A Moment Like This
by Authoress-in-training
Summary: After graduation, Bloom sets out on a dangerous quest to reclaim what once was hers.  But in the process, she might just discover that the greatest things in life are the ones we aren't looking for...
1. Goodbye Lullaby

_Goodbye, goodbye_

_Goodbye my love_

_I can't hide, can't hide_

_Can't hide what has come_

You never know when the most significant days of your life are going to be. The days you think are going to be big and special are never quite as wonderful as you make them out to be in your head. The regular days that start out normal can end up being the days you never want to forget.

And then there are the days you wish you would have known would turn out the way they did, so you can make sure you don't leave without saying goodbye.

I never got that chance. Now, it's too late.

All I want is the ability to let my loved ones know the truth – that I didn't desert them of my own choice. Is that so much to ask for?

Apparently.

_I have to go,_

_And leave you alone_

_But always know_

_That I love you so_

_I love you so_


	2. One Girl Revolution

"After three years of hard work, and more than a little… unforeseen excitement, your experience here at the Alfea College for Fairies is nearing its end. And now, within the presence of your closest friends, you will celebrate the Day of the Gift. It is time for our proud graduates to take up their mantles as guardian fairies." Cheering from the underclassmen. "Step forward, graduates."

From the top of the highest tower, I watched as my friends walked proudly up to Ms Faragonda, each with smiles wide enough to illuminate the world. _I __should __be __down __there __with __them,_ I thought somewhat bitterly. _If __I __were __any __other __girl __at __Alfea, __I __would __be. __But __no__ – __I __have __to __be __the __unusual __one, __and __not __in __a __good __way._

Almost immediately, I felt ashamed of myself for even thinking that. These were my best friends; I should be happy for them on their big day, rather than brooding on my own circumstances. That's what a _real_ best friend would do in my position.

But as I watched them open the little jewelry boxes and receive an infusion of magical energy distinct to their home world, fierce longing burned white-hot in my chest. It wasn't fair. I deserved it just as much as they did – maybe (if I was being totally, blankly honest) even more. After all, who was the one that had seemingly had a big fat target sign on her back every single year?

And yet I was up here, rather than down there. I sighed and angled my body so I wouldn't have to look at the scene going on below me, instead staring off towards the forest and Lake Roccaluce.

Thinking about the lake turned my thoughts to a subject that they'd been coming back to often lately – Baltor. After the battle under the riverbed, when I'd broken the seal on the Agador box, he had just disappeared, never to be heard from again. After an anxious week or so of waiting, Ms Faragonda had eventually determined that he must have drowned when the water returned to the lake, and that we were free of him. Her word was good enough for everyone else, and things had more or less returned to normal (or rather, what passed for normal around here). But as the only person alive with the actual ability to determine whether or not he was dead, I just didn't feel satisfied.

It all felt too… anticlimactic. Yes, there had been a battle under the riverbed, but it was hardly the kind of battle I'd imagined when I thought about finally defeating him. And that little tingle in the back of my mind that always alerted me to his presence was vastly muted, but not completely gone. Now matter how hard I tried, I couldn't shake the feeling that we had not killed him – that he was still alive out there somewhere, biding his time, waiting to strike back.

But I'd held my tongue, not wanting to cause unncessary panic. And when weeks passed with no word, I'd almost allowed myself to believe that Ms Faragonda was right – that maybe he was gone for good, and we could get on with our lives.

Reality reared its ugly head at the strangest times, though – like now, as I was watching the others graduate. _It__'__s __his __stupid __fault,_ I mused, burying my face in my hands. _He__'__s __the __reason __Sparx __was __destroyed; __the __reason __I__'__m __up __here __rather __than __down __there. __What __I __wouldn__'__t __give __for __a __final __face-off__ – __to __kill __him __for __real __this __time._

"There you are." I was pulled from my thoughts by a voice I knew very, very well. Smiling to myself as I looked up to see Sky landing his hoverboard on the top of the tower, I idly wondered how he'd found me – and if that meant the others knew I'd taken refuge up here. "I was beginning to worry about you. Why is my beautiful princess locked up in her tower?"

I laughed, mostly to make him feel better, since that joke was ridiculously stupid and didn't even make much sense. "Just wasn't in a celebrating mood, you know?" I glanced down to the others, being congratulated by Ms Faragonda for their accomplishments. "It's incredibly selfish of me, I know, but I just–"

"Are you kidding me? You are maybe the least selfish person I know." He stepped closer, taking my hand in his. "I get it, okay? I know why today would be hard for you. And I'm sure the girls will too, once you tell them. Don't worry about it."

I sighed, and let him pull me up from the bench, leaning my head against his shoulder. "Thank you."

"Now come on. Let's get you back to the others so you girls can do your primp thing and get ready for the party tonight. Or are you so down in the dumps that you're skipping that too?"

I laughed. "No, I'm going. A girl's gotta leave her tower sometimes, you know?" He chuckled at my reference to his stupid joke from earlier.

"Then hop on. I'll have you down in no time."

He mounted the hoverboard again, and I carefully stepped on in front of him, balancing myself with his hands wrapped around my waist and shoulders. As he pulled me tight against him, I could feel his heartbeat, steady and reassuring. It was a good metaphor for Sky himself – always there when I needed him, ready to lend a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on or a sword in battle when I was in trouble. I had no doubts as to his feelings for me, even after all the trouble I'd pulled him into year after year.

So then why did it feel vaguely wrong to be here with him now?

* * *

><p>That weird feeling of unease lingered all through the night, as I got dressed with the girls and chattered about immediate plans post-graduation. Spirits were generally high, and thankfully no one mentioned my lack of presence at the ceremony. Whether they were giving me the benefit of the doubt as Sky had or truly hadn't realized I wasn't there, I didn't know, but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.<p>

"Can you believe we're finally done?" Musa exclaimed, uncharacteristically twirling giddily, the full skirt of her dress spinning out behind her. "No more getting up at seven AM, no more tests, no more of Griselda's cruel and unusual punishments… no more Griselda, period?" We all laughed at that.

"Yeah, but you guys do realize that graduation also means no more seeing each other every day, right?" I wasn't trying to bring down the effervescent mood, just pointing out the obvious that they all seemed to have overlooked. "You're all guardian fairies now; you'll be going home to protect your worlds. We'll be lucky if we all see each other a couple times a year."

Stella smacked my upper arm playfully. "Bloom, stop being such a downer! It's graduation!" Something about the way her limbs moved loosely and the slightly slurred sound of her speech made me think she'd been drinking something a bit stronger than sparkling cider. "And anyway, that is so not true. We're the Winx Club! If we didn't let the Trix, Darkar, or Baltor break us up, I don't know why you think _graduation_, of all things, is going to."

"Yeah, Bloom, we're best friends forever. Nothing's going to come between us, even when we're not at Alfea anymore." Flora linked her arm through mine, as the others nodded their agreement.

I sighed, dropping the argument for now. "I guess you're right," I said finally.

"Of course we're right. Haven't you learned anything by now?" Layla joked, slinging an arm around my shoulder. "Now come on. The boys are probably dying a slow, painful death by boredom out there without us beautiful ladies to play with." More giggles from the entire group.

As we all linked up to enter the party together, like the inseparable group we'd been for the last three years, I couldn't help but feel that no matter what the others said, tonight was not a night for celebrating. Why was I the only one who seemed to realize that this wasn't the start of something, but rather the end of everything?

Or maybe… it was only that way for me.

* * *

><p>Sky was awestruck as I came down the stairs. "You look stunning," he said, kneeling slightly to kiss my hand. I blushed, more embarrassed than charmed by his over-the-top gesture.<p>

"It's the same thing I wore to Stella's princess ball, and to the Millennium Ball," I demurred.

"You look better in it every time I see you," he insisted. The music started up again. "Dance with me?"

We danced for several songs, the others often whirling in and out of our sight. Finally, Sky stopped. "Something's bothering you," he said. "I can see it in your eyes." I pursed my lips. "Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I swear," I said, but he wasn't buying it. Taking my wrist, he pulled me out into the hall, where it was quieter. I sighed and let go of his hand, walking over to a nearby window and staring out at the starry night.

"Is it about what happened earlier?" he asked after a moment, still intent on getting an answer.

Resigning myself to the fact that I was apparently going to have to talk whether I wanted to or not, I sighed and said, "Sort of. I don't know." I took another few steps, turning in a circle with my arms oustretched. "I just.. Alfea's been my home for the last three years. These girls are my family. But I guess… it's all over now."

"_School_'s over," he corrected me. "Our lives are just beginning." He stopped and peered at me curiously. "Or… is that what's scaring you?"

I looked down at the ground, grabbing fistfuls of my skirt in my hands. "They all made it in the end. And I didn't."

"Are you kidding?" He tilted my chin upwards to meet his gaze. "Everyone knows you're the strongest fairy at Alfea."

"But I'm also a princess without a kingdom." I turned away from him, back to the window. "I just feel so… unanchored. All the other girls know exactly what they're going to do when we leave tomorrow. And I have nowhere to go but Gardenia." Though I loved Mike and Vanessa dearly, the thought of going back to Earth after my three amazing years in the magical dimension was incredibly depressing.

"Maybe that's not true." There was a rustle of fabric and the light clinking sound of jewelry. "I think you have somewhere else to go." I turned around to see him holding out a delicate gold chain necklace with a small gold heart locket hanging off it. "You could come back to Eraklyon with me."

"Sky, it's so pretty," I exclaimed, reaching out to touch the necklace. He smiled, thankfully not noticing that I hadn't responded to the second part of his offer, and motioned for me to turn it around so he could drape it around my neck.

"It's a family heirloom," he continued, as he did up the clasp. "Men in the Eraklyon royal family are supposed to give it to the girl they want to be with forever. And, well… for me, that's you, Bloom."

Suddenly, the relatively light weight of the chain around my neck felt unbearably heavy, like an anchor. Though he'd said the words shyly, there was no mistaking the intention behind them – this was more or less the promise of a marriage proposal some time in the not-too-distant future.

The question was, why did I feel so apprehensive? Certainly, after all we'd been through together, the idea of marrying Sky wasn't foreign. In fact, Flora had even teased that said proposal might have happened even earlier in the year (although it hadn't). And staying in the magical dimension was definitely preferrable to going back to Gardenia. So why did the mere thought make my stomach roll over in knots?

Then it was like a fog had lifted, and I could see clearly now – I did not love Sky. Maybe I never had. I'd stayed with him as long as I had mostly out of a sense of propriety, and so I wouldn't be the odd girl out. But as plainly as I knew my own name, I suddenly knew that I did not want to become Queen of Eraklyon.

Maybe this whole thing was a blessing in disguise. For the past three years, I'd defined myself as being a student at Alfea, part of the Winx Club, Sky's girlfriend. Perhaps graduation was a chance for me to discover who I really was, undefined by anyone else.

But that meant I now had to tell Sky…

With a heavy heart, I reached up and undid the clasp, letting the necklace pool into my palm. "I'm so sorry, Sky," I started, struggling to find the right words. "But I don't think I'm the girl this belongs to after all."

He looked like somone had just punched him in the stomach. I winced, not having had any idea how much this would affect him. "But… but… why?" he sputtered, regaining the ability to speak after a few moments of shell-shocked silence. "What did I do?"

"Nothing, nothing," I reassured him. "I just had a little revelation, and realized that I've been with you for all the wrong reasons. I don't think I'm your queen, but I wish you all the best in finding her." I dropped the necklace into his open palm and closed his fingers around it. "I'm really sorry. But you were right earlier, when you said that this is the start of the rest of our lives. And I want to find out who I am, rather than be chained to a throne not mine by blood."

It took him a moment to formulate another response. "Where will you go, then?"

"I don't know," I called over my shoulder, already starting to walk down the hall, leaving him behind. "But I'm sure I'll have fun figuring it out."

My heart raced as I walked away from him and the rest of the ballroom – essentially walking away from the people and place I'd called home for the past three years. It was melancholy, yes, but also a bit exciting. For the first time in I couldn't remember how long, I'd stood up for myself, and made a decision that was entirely my own. It felt pretty damn good.

_So __what _will _I __do? __Where _will _I __go?_ I wondered. _Well, __what __do __I __want __to __do?_

The answer hit me almost instantly.

_Restore __Sparx_.

But that was insane, wasn't it? The entire planet was frozen solid, transformed into a barren, icy wasteland years ago. There was no way I could ever restore it, even with the most formidable firepower in the magical dimension.

Yet now that the idea had entered my mind, it set down roots and latched on tight, like a stubborn weed that refused to go away. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that it might actually be possible. _And __then __I __could __be __a __true __guardian __fairy__… __I__'__d __have __my __parents __back, __and __be __a __princess, __and __everything __would __be __perfect._

It would be a crazy, extraordinarily risky, possibly deadly, and most likely futile undertaking. But on the lucky chance that it actually worked… I'd have everything I'd always dreamed about.

And my three years at Alfea were proof enough of how luck tended to favor me.

A new sense of purpose flooded my veins, making me feel almost invincible. Renewed with strength and confidence, I continued walking forward, towards the great unknown, no longer scared of facing it by myself.

_Some people see the revolution but most only see the girl_

_I can lose my hard-earned freedom if my fear defines my world_

_I declare my independence from my critics and their stones_

_I can find my revolution, I can learn to stand alone_

'_Cuz I'm a one girl revolution_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: To everyone who's reading this right now, welcome! I hope you'll enjoy this story as much as I enjoy working on it.<strong>

**This can be taken as a prequel to my second-generation trilogy (which I highly encourage you to read if you haven't already!), but it can also be a stand-alone. If you haven't read the trilogy, the prologue probably won't make much sense, but that's not the end of the world.**

**This is not going to be very long - I have it all planned out already, and it'll most likely be just about 8 chapters, but good long meaty ones like this. It covers a period of about three years, starting at the end of season 3 and disregarding any other canon from there (although if you noticed, I did steal a little bit from the first movie).**

**Um, that's really about all I have to say for now. The next chapter should be up fairly soon - I'm really excited to be writing this, so time between updates should be relatively brief.**

**All my love,**

**- Authoress**


	3. Two Rebels

Okay. So maybe this wasn't going to be quite as easy as I'd made it out to be in my mind.

In the two and a half years since I'd been to Sparx with the others, I'd forgotten just how _cold_ it was here. It wasn't quite as bad as the Omega Dimension – where the very icy air you breathed seemed to suck the warmth and life right out of you – but instead was its own particular brand of disheartening. Omega literally drained your magic energy if you weren't careful; Sparx just crippled my spirit, every time I realized what a crazy thing it was that I had done.

Yet no matter how bad it got, I couldn't give up. I had been at this for almost two months now, and had actually made some – albeit extremely minute – progress. The long days spent in Enchantix form channeling all my energy into bigger and bigger fire attacks were taking their toll on me; sometimes I'd curl up in my tent and sleep for days on end, just to recharge. But I wouldn't let myself abandon hope that one day, I actually would finish this Herculean task I'd set myself.

Certainly, this would've been a hell of a lot easier with some help. But some insane part of me that felt like I had something to prove refused to let me ask for any. I hadn't even told any of the girls where I was going when we'd all left Alfea the morning after graduation; they probably assumed I was in Gardenia, or possibly Eraklyon with Sky (who I hadn't even spoken to since I'd left him in the hallway the night of the graduation dance). And as my cell phone was currently lying in a snowbank somewhere, there was no chance of any of them finding out where I'd gone that way.

When I stopped to really think about it, it was sort of scary. I had completely cut any ties I had in the magical dimension. No one knew where I was. I could die on Sparx, cold and alone, and no one would ever know.

Sometimes, that thought was depressing enough to make me want to give up this vain quest to prove myself, go home, and act like the last few months had just been some crazy dream. But other times, it was strangely exhilarating. Sparx _was_ my natural home, and here I was, making it hospitable again. And unlike all my other accomplishments, no one could ever argue that I hadn't done it myself. This was something that would be attributed entirely to me. Thinking about that was enough to get me out of my tent most days when I started to feel like quitting.

Still, I thought one particularly frigid morning, it wouldn't be so bad to have some human company. Two months with only my own thoughts for companionship was not exactly pleasant, especially with the promise of nothing but more of the same for God only knows how long.

_Just __remember __what __you__'__re __going __to __get __when __you __finally __finish __this,_ I told myself, aiming another blast of fire at a glacier. _Your __parents, __and __a __kingdom__ – __everything __you __always __dreamed __of. __A __little __hard __work __and __loneliness __is __a __small __price __to __pay __for __all __that._

My Dragon Fire had proved itself capable of melting the sheets of ice that blanketed Sparx, but all that revealed was a desolate, rocky gray landscape that wasn't much more habitable than the endless snow. To make the planet truly livable, I'd have to go back and use nature magic to coax plants to grow again. But first came the seemingly never-ending task of melting the ice, which was made even harder by the dark magic in it. Because of that, I found myself having to use fairy dust quite a lot, which just depleted my energy supply that much faster. It also had the lovely little side benefit of making me weak, disoriented, and dizzy; once, I passed out in a snowbank and might've died of hypothermia in my skimpy Enchantix dress if it weren't for the Dragon Fire's protection.

Today, I was up in one of the mountain ranges, trying to unfreeze a peak that supposedly contained Sparx's hidden library. If that were true, it would be an enormous victory for me – I could set up in there, sheltered from the elements by thick stone rather than the flimsy prop-up tent I currently called home base. Unfortunately, it seemed to be buried under a six-feet-thick wall of solid ice.

A fiercely cold wind whipped my hair in front of my face, and I shivered. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a dark figure climbing the mountain; it looked strangely like a person. But then I blinked, and through the bitter wind and snow the figure disappeared.

Gritting my teeth, I focused all of my energy on the mountain. The cold soon disappeared as my body flared bright and hot with the power of the Dragon Fire, spreading out so it encompassed a good portion of the area around me. Reaching down to pluck my fairy dust pendant off my neck, I shook it vigorously, adding that to the mix.

_I __believe __that __I __can __do __this,_ I chanted in my head over and over again, as the fairy dust gave it extra strength. Slowly, I saw some of the ice start to melt, and for a second, I lost concentration to smile.

And that's when it all came crashing down – literally.

* * *

><p>I awoke with no idea where I was.<p>

The walls were tall gray stone, with plush red carpeting underneath me. Shelves and shelves of books lined every turn, and candles burned in holders on the walls, providing illumination. But most peculiar of all was the heat. I had never been able to sustain a fire that would last this long on Sparx, no matter how hard I tried.

Carefully, I pulled myself off the ground and took tiny, tiptoe steps in the direction of the source of heat, hoping that I'd find some answers there. Eventually, the shelves of books opened out onto a little alcove with a tall stone fireplace and a couple of cozy armchairs. The fire I'd felt crackled and burned happily, and there was an arm draped over the side of one of the chairs.

Instantly, I was on high alert. I hadn't seen another person the entire time I was here (although I suppose it was certainly possible there was someone else living here, though highly unlikely). Taking care to make as little noise as possible, I summoned a ball of fire to my fingertips, ready to strike at any second.

"You're going to kill yourself if you keep going on like this," a gratingly familiar voice drawled. My eyes widened as the person in the chair turned around.

"Baltor." I tried to keep my voice steady, as my hands lit up with fireballs. "I'd say I'm surprised to see you alive, but we both know that's a lie."

He smirked. "Touché."

"What do you want?"

"Now, Bloom, is that any way to thank someone who just saved your life?" His grin grew wider as I stared at him in disbelief.

"You… what? _Why_?"

"The better question, my dear, is what are you doing here?" He leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other and pressing his fingertips together. "Shouldn't you be picking out your wedding dress and brushing up on Eraklyon royal law?"

My jaw set irritably. "Not that it's any of your business, but Sky and I broke up at graduation." His eyes flickered briefly in surprise, before returning to their usual mask of cool detachedness. "Your turn. How did you survive under the lakebed? Why didn't you come back? And what in the realms are you doing here now?"

Baltor shrugged. "Got bored of Magix. Decided to get out with my freedom while I still had it. As for why I'm here… I felt the Dragon Fire stirring when you started defrosting this place. Good thing I showed up when I did, or else you wouldn't be here right now."

I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment. "I would have been fine in the snow when I woke up," I insisted feebly.

"Maybe this time, but what about next time? You've been lucky for several years, Bloom, and that's made you reckless. You don't think things through, and then your stubborn pride refuses to let you see when it's a lost cause and give up before you get hurt." There was something in his voice – concern, perhaps? – that seemed out of place with anything else he'd ever said to me.

"Why do you care, Baltor?" I challenged. "Wouldn't it be better off for you if I died?"

His lips pursed. "Contrary to popular belief, it seems, I don't actually want to kill you. And letting you die out here is not something I want on my conscience."

I arched an eyebrow. "You have one of those?"

He chuckled. "I guess I deserved that." Uncrossing his legs, he sat up straighter and motioned to the other chair. "Sit. If I wanted to harm you, I would have by now."

I bit my bottom lip, unable to determine whether or not he was baiting me into a trap. Finally, realizing just how little strength I had left, I collapsed gratefully into the chair.

"Where's the rest of the gang?" he asked. "I thought you six were joined at the hip."

"Graduation happened." I don't know how it had happened, but somehow I was having a civilized conversation with Baltor, of all people. It was more than a little surreal. "They're all guardian fairies now."

I saw his expression change as he seemed to understand what I'd left unspoken. "And you… wanted that." I nodded, moving my hands closer to the fire.

"You know, you never answered my question. Why are you here?"

"You mean I didn't give you the answer you were _really_ looking for." I rolled my eyes. "I'm here to help you."

"_Excuse_ me?" I blinked, sure I'd heard him wrong.

"I know you've got this martyr complex about how you have to be the one to bring back Sparx all by yourself, but if you're going to insist on doing this, there's no way you can actually do it alone. Plus," he grinned, "haven't you ever heard that two dragons are better than one?"

"The expression's two _heads_, idiot," I said, not wanting to comment on either the 'martyr complex' or the 'I'm going to help you' bit. "Why? What's in it for you?"

For a moment, his expression darkened, and I could've sworn I saw genuine sorrow in his eyes. But as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone. "Why not?" He shrugged. "It's not like I have many other options of where to go. Funny how the whole escaped convict thing works sometimes."

"But… you…" There were about a thousand sentences on the tip of my tongue: _You __spent __the __better __part __of __a __year __trying __to __kill __me. __You__'__re __part __of __the __reason __Sparx __is __the __way __it __is; __you __doing __this __is __practically __the __definition __of __irony. __You __and __I __hate __each __other._ But somehow, what came out was, "You really want to do this?"

Now it was his turn to roll his eyes. "You know, somehow I figured you'd be a little more grateful."

"Well forgive me for wondering what the catch is."

"Catch? Why does there have to be a catch?"

"Two months ago I thought you wanted to kill me. I'd be utterly stupid not to be at least a little wary of your motives."

To my surprise, he grinned. "Fair point. But all that's behind us now, isn't it? We're just two people with a common agenda." If it were anyone else, I would've called the tone of his voice wistful as he continued, "Sparx was a lovely place, you know. It could be again."

As much as it got under my skin the way he could talk about Sparx – that he remembered it and I couldn't – he did sort of have a point. Having an extra set of hands – and some more Dragon Fire – would definitely be nice. And that we had managed to get through this entire conversation (not to mention the fact that he'd pulled me out of the snow in the first place) was proof that maybe there was a side to Baltor I'd never seen before.

Still… I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

"So do we have a deal?" he asked, holding out his hand. I hesitated, and he stared pointedly at me. "What's the matter, Bloom? Don't you trust me?"

I laughed darkly. "I think you know the answer to that." But I still reached over and shook his hand. "I'm warning you, though," I added as I pulled away, "if this is all some elaborate trick to get my guard down, I won't hesitate to fight back with all my strength."

I had never seen him smile so widely. "But of course, my dear. It would be foolish to think otherwise."

_We had our whole lives scripted_

_But we tossed it to the side_

_Those words can't tell us nothing_

_Come on, let's improvise_

_Do you trust me enough?_

_If we become two rebels_

_In this black and white world_

_Would you become a rebel with me?_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: And so the plot thickens! ;-)<strong>

**Before I forget (because I did last time), I do not own any of the song lyrics I've been pasting at the ends. A complete playlist will be available at the end of the story.**

**So please, drop me a line and tell me what you thought. Next chapter should be up soon, depending on how my muse is faring (surprisingly well lately, so expect quick update times).**

**That's all for now, folks!**

**- Authoress**


	4. Just a Kiss

**AN: Do keep in mind, there's a good deal of timeskip between this chapter and the last one...**

* * *

><p>"I hate you," I complained, dropping down in front of the fire and fighting the urge to cry out in relief as the blessed warmth started to defrost my popsicle limbs.<p>

From what I had christened 'his' chair, Baltor looked up from the book he was reading, his face contorted with barely contained amusement. "What is it this time?"

"It's a freaking blizzard out there! And while I've been casting protective spells so all our hard work isn't undone in a single night, you've been in here, all warm and cozy by the fire."

He chuckled. "You were the one who insisted on going out to do the protection spells. I tried to tell you it was pointless, but did you listen to me? Obviously not."

Struggling to find an appropriate comeback, I ended up just sticking my tongue out at the fire, moving my hands closer. "Whose turn is it for dinner?" I asked idly, realizing just how ravenous I was now that the feeling was coming back to my fingers.

"Well, it was supposed to be yours, but I ended up taking care of it when I couldn't find you. There's a plate on the table." I looked up to see his attention was already back on the book.

"Good book?" Fighting the stinging pain shooting up my half-frozen legs, I got up and peered over the side of the chair; then rolled my eyes and heaved a sigh when I saw what it was. "Of course – another spell book. You're obsessed."

Without even looking up, he aimed a curse in my direction, but I ducked and it hit the wall instead. "Sparx was considered the epicenter of the magical dimension for magical history and knowledge, before it was destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of years of research and study are contained in these tomes. And to think, all these books are considered gone forever."

"Like the Library of Alexandria," I mused, thinking out loud. I had, out of curiosity (okay, more like crushing boredom), been through the collection, but only when I'd found a shelf tucked way in the back corner filled with actual novels had I started to regard the books as anything more than background furnishings. Unlike, Baltor, who had to have read almost every single book in here by now – although I guess considering his former hobby, it shouldn't have been all that surprising.

"The what?"

"In a place called Egypt, on Earth. Thousands of years ago, it was supposedly sort of like the way you described Sparx: an epicenter of history and learning. But then it burned down in a fire and much of the information was never recovered." I frowned, noticing the disheartening parallels between the two. It wasn't a nice thought.

"Don't think like that," he said, and my frown quickly turned to a look of surprise. "Sparx isn't beyond repair. We're going to bring it back."

This wasn't the first time he'd said something like this – like he could read my thoughts – but I'd never actually gotten up the courage to ask him if he could, mostly because I was scared of what the answer would be. Regardless, it always made me uncomfortable when he did that. "I'm gonna go eat," I said, already weaving my way through the bookshelves.

The library had turned out to be far more spacious than I could have ever imagined – but, as to be expected, it was hardly designed for anyone to live in long-term. Still, we'd made it work, designating little alcoves for eating and sleeping, as well as the main area with the fireplace as a sort of all-purpose 'room'. (Thank God the library had a bathroom, otherwise things would have been extraordinarily awkward.)

Nearly eight months had passed since that fateful day Baltor pulled me out of the snow and offered his help. And despite the intial awkwardness – because let's face it, there was no way it wasn't going to be at least a little awkward at first – we'd developed something of a rapport that translated immensely well into working together. It still never failed to amaze me that I could carry on such eloquent conversations with a man I used to think wanted nothing more than to see me dead. But the truly astounding thing was how much we had to talk about.

It should have scared me to realize just how easily I had slipped into a rather intimate partnership with my former enemy. We'd blurred the lines so much I couldn't even pinpoint what 'side' either of us was on any more, and that thought alone should have terrified me. Incongruously enough, though, it didn't; in fact, the only time I truly felt apprehensive at the choices I'd made was when I thought about what would happen when this was all over. And even then, I'd be lying if I said that the idea of turning Baltor over to the proper authorities didn't make my stomach roll over in knots.

If I hadn't seen another side of him these last six months, I might've assumed this was all one giant, devious scheme to buy him enough time to recuperate and launch his attack on the magical dimension again. It would've been a lot easier to just think that way – use him for his Dragon Fire to defrost Sparx, then toss him back in Omega when it was over. _Thanks __for __everything, __but __now __you __have __to __pay __for __what __you__'__ve __done. __Enjoy __eternity __as __a __popsicle!_

But every fiber of my being wanted to revolt whenever my thoughts brought me down that path. Whatever this was, whatever we had become (allies, 'frenemies'… there wasn't a good enough word or words in any language in all of existence to define us), I knew that that was not an option. There had to be another way this could end. So I tried to push it out of my mind most nights, focusing only on the seemingly impossible task of defrosting this cold, barren place.

_You __know __you __have __to __figure __this __out __eventually,_ a little voice in the back of my head nagged. _You__'__re __getting __closer __every __day __to __having __to __make __that __choice, __and __acting __like __it __doesn__'__t __exist __isn__'__t __going __to __make __it __go __away._

I hate it when the voices in your head are right.

* * *

><p>"Dragon Fury!"<p>

I'd been almost too lucky in my time here so far, that I hadn't encountered any of the ice monsters that had plagued us freshman year. Of course, I should've known better than to think that they'd all just up and died or something.

This one was much bigger and, well, _icier_ than the ones I remembered from three years ago – some kind of a giant snake that reminded me a lot of the ones from the Omega Dimension. And unfortunately, it was proving to be just as impossible to beat.

"This approach isn't working," Baltor said, as I tumbled backwards through the air from the force of the recoil.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." I grit my teeth and pushed my hair out of my face, trying my hardest to fight the urge to just fly fast and far away from this ugly, powerful monster (learned the hard way just how well _that_ worked). "Got any ideas?"

"Just one. But it's _mad_."

"At this point, I'll try anything." He didn't say anything, just grabbed my hands. I was about to yank them back (and yell some well-placed expletives) when I noticed the glowing ball of energy encasing our hands. All of a sudden it hit me what he was trying to do. "Are you serious?" I shouted over the roar of the wind. "How do you know this isn't going to backfire in our faces?"

"I don't!" he answered, and I would've smacked him if I hadn't been concentrating all my energy on this attack. "Hey, you said you'd try anything!"

As crazy of an idea as it seemed, it actually seemed to be working. The glowing ball of power increased so that it was almost double the size of anything I could've ever hoped to create on my own. In perfect unison, we both let go and exclaimed, "Dragon Fire Convergence!"

The snake seemed to swallow our attack, which I thought was a good sign – maybe it would destroy it from the inside out, and we'd finally be done fighting it. I turned my back to the creature, about to congratulate Baltor on a job well done.

In hindsight, I definitely shouldn't have done that.

There was a deep, groaning roar from the direction of the snake below us. I barely had a split second to realize what was happening before an icy blast hit me in the back, sending me plummeting out of the sky at an alarmingly fast rate.

"Bloom!" I heard Baltor yell, but there was no time for him to react; in seconds I had covered the expanse between sky and ground, crashing through what I had thought was solid ice and sinking deep down under into the frigid waters below.

I tried to fight it, but the blast was too strong; it was like my powers had been cut off, made inaccessible, and without them I had no chance of being able to swim back to the surface, not at the rate I was sinking. The water grew darker and colder as I started to lose momentum, floating along like a rag doll with limbs askew. Dark spots clouded my vision, and my head felt foggy. Any minute now, I knew I would run out of oxygen, and that would be it – this would be the end.

_Stella, __Flora, __Musa, __Tecna, __Layla, __Mike, __Vanessa, __Kiko, __even __Sky__ – __I__'__m __so __sorry __it __has __to __end __like __this. __I__'__m __sorry __I __never __said __goodbye. __I __just __wish__…_

There were ripples as something broke the surface of the water – so many feet above – but I lacked the strength to hold on for much longer. This quiet, dark place wasn't so bad after all, was it? I could feel myself losing consciousness already, hovering perilously on the edge of life.

_Oritel, __Miriam, __I__'__m __sorry. __I __failed __you__…_

* * *

><p>Cold. Bitter, arctic, frozen-straight-down-to-the-bone cold.<p>

I awoke with a start, coughing and choking, chest heaving with exertion as my lungs tried to suck in all the good oxygen they'd been deprived of. It stung, and I winced. But I was alive.

_How_ was I alive? I'd all but accepted that I was going to die back there in the water – hadn't tried to fight it. What had happened?

Every muscle in my body ached like I'd spent the previous day lifting thousand-pound weights, but I lifted and craned my head, trying to figure out where I was. There was great, glorious warmth to my left, and I was lying on something soft, with a high ceiling above my head. Even in my addled state, I could recognize the library. Curiouser and curiouser…

I inhaled again, but coughed and sputtered, like there was something lodged in my throat. My eyes watered and nose burned, body doubled over with the sheer effort. It felt like I was suffocating, dying…

Then I felt a soft pressure against my lips, and warm breath not my own filled my lungs. I looked up to see a very familiar pair of gold eyes hovering over me.

And promptly started to choke again.

"Shhh, take it easy," he said, placing one hand on my stomach and the other on my chest. "You've basically just come back from the dead. Don't want to strain your body any further now."

"I… you… what?"

His hands glowed faintly with magic, and I sighed happily as my still-frozen skin started to defrost. "I don't know what that ice snake thing did to you, but by the time I got you back here, you were gone, Bloom. I tried everything I could think of, but nothing seemed to work." He hesitated. "And then… I guess something did."

There was something like a humming sensation in my veins, as if I were a machine coming back to life. It was strange, but not unwelcomed, especially since the pressure in my chest was starting to subside. My ability to form complete sentences, though, had still not returned to me, and so even though my mind was racing with questions faster than the speed of light, all I could say was, "How?"

"My best guess would be the Dragon Fire. It's not called the Flame of Life for nothing, after all." That made sense, but it felt like there was something missing from his answer.

"Why?" I asked, starting to feel somewhat normal again. "Why did you save me? That makes it twice now – no, three times if you count Tides. Why do you keep saving me?"

Silence.

"Get some sleep. Your body needs to heal. I'll leave food for when you wake up." His boots echoed on the floor as he walked away.

Sleep was the last thing on my mind. My lips tingled slightly, and not from the cold. I brought two fingers up to my lips, imagining I could still feel his lips against them. My heart beat faster at the thought, remembering the soft pressure, the comforting warmth…

Wait.

Was I seriously fantasizing about kissing Baltor?

* * *

><p>"You should stay in tomorrow," he announced from his chair by the fire. "It won't do us any good if you fall in a snowbank or get caught in a blizzard or something in your condition."<p>

"Whatever you say," I mumbled, dragging my chair closer to the fire and at the same time somewhat farther from his. He didn't seem to notice, since as per usual his nose was buried in a book. Sighing, I opened up my novel, but reading it was about the last thing on my mind.

Try as I might to convince myself that that weird little fantasy had just been an adverse reaction to the shock of coming back from near-death, it just wasn't working. The question was, _why_? Was it just overreacting hormones, from spending so much time with only him for company? Did it maybe have to do with the Dragon Fire, the ancient magic running through both our veins that seemed to bind us together in ways I couldn't even begin to understand?

I didn't let myself dwell on that other option. It couldn't possibly be that.

Glancing up from pretending to read, I stole a glance at him out of the corner of my eye. His concentration was completely on the book, a piece of hair framing the angular line of his jaw, his gold eyes shining in the firelight.

Had he always been this… handsome?

_Okay, __I__'__m __definitely_ _experiencing __some __kind __of __weird __reaction __to __something_, I decided. _There__'__s __just __no __other __explanation __for __this_.

Unless…

_Ugh_. I sighed audibly, sick of this back-and-forth between the two parts of my brain.

"Is something wrong, Bloom?"

_Damn_. He noticed that.

"No, it's nothing," I insisted feebly. He stared at me for a moment, then started to go back to the book.

_Say __something, __idiot_, the bolder part of my brain yelled.

Yeah. A lot easier in my head. "Um, actually, Baltor, there is something."

"Hmm?" He looked up with what looked like only partial interest.

Gathering all my courage, I got up out of my chair, taking slow steps towards him. I twisted my hands nervously, trying to figure out what to say. He closed the book and stared at me curiously.

"What's on your mind?"

_Do __something. __Now._

Impulsively, before I lost my nerve, I leaned over and kissed him. It was obvious he wasn't expecting it, and I saw his eyes widen a fraction of a second before I touched him, butterfly light, on his lips with my own.

He blinked and flinched like he'd been burned.

I swallowed hard and stepped back involuntarily. "S-sorry," I stammered. "I–"

Before I could finish the sentence, he was standing up and pulling me against him, cupping my face in one hand and placing the other on the back of my neck, under my hair. He kissed me gently at first, tentatively, like asking a question, but as I returned the kiss he grew bolder, his tongue sliding past my lips to explore the inside of my mouth.

My knees buckled slightly, and before I could process what was happening I was lying back against the soft carpet, him hovering over me. We were still kissing, and my head was spinning from the intense rush of desire flooding my veins. It was as if the kiss had awakened feelings inside of me that I didn't even know I possessed, like every ounce of passion in my body had been awakened by this breathtakingly, earth-shatteringly amazing kiss. Every other thought – like the possible consequences of whatever this was we were about to do – had left my head completely.

I may or may not have let out something that sounded like a soft moan as my back seemed to arch of its own accord, every millimeter of my body yearning to press itself against him. My skin felt both hot and cold at the same time, and much too tight, like I was trying to crawl out of it. These new sensations were making me greedy and possessive. This wasn't enough. I wanted _more_.

My hands slid under the shoulders of that ubiquitous burgundy jacket, pulling it down impatiently. Then, jacket discarded in a pile by the fire, my fingers worked eagerly at the collar of his shirt, quickly becoming annoyed with the many ties and frills.

I felt his chest rumble with laughter against my own, the vibrations seeming to move through my body as well. His fingers traced over my abdomen, leaving a trail of goosebumps on my skin, and my breath caught in my throat as they inched their way down to the edge of my T-shirt. Slowly, deftly, he started to tug it upwards.

His eyes were dark with lust as he took in my half-naked body, turning the normally brilliant gold hue a deep amber color, and any notion of self-consciousness evaporated under his heated gaze. I practically ripped his vest and shirt in my haste to get them off, wanting to feel his skin against my own so badly it was almost a physical ache. _How __did __he __get __so__… __well-built?_ I wondered, placing my hands on his flat stomach, tracing his fine abdominal muscles.

His lips moved down to my neck, placing butterfly kisses along my collarbone that had me gasping for breath. This was unlike anything I had ever experienced before, like the very magic in my blood was calling out to his, drawing me to him. With a sigh, I threw my head back, closing my eyes and giving myself over to his expert touch.

And then, suddenly, it was no longer there.

I felt his absence like a physical pain; a dull ache coiling in the pit of my stomach, unsatisfied. Groaning as I opened my eyes, I saw him halfway across the room, hastily pulling his shirt back on.

"I'm sorry, Bloom," Baltor said, refusing to make eye contact with me. "I shouldn't have done that."

There were about a thousand ways I could've responded, but all of them died on my tongue before I could open my mouth. So instead, I just let him go, staring into the fire that was slowly dying in the hearth, as if it somehow held the answers I sought. My heart beat a staccato rhythm in my chest.

_What __the __hell __was __that?_

_Lying here with you so close to me_

_It's hard to fight these feelings when it feels so hard to breathe_

_Caught up in this moment_

_Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight_

_Just a touch of the fire burning so bright_

_No I don't want to mess this thing up_

_I don't want to push too far_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: First of all, I'm so incredibly sorry for the long wait! I really did not mean for it to take this long - I'm having such fun writing this, it's a major priority on my "to be worked on" list - but unfortunately, life decided to butt its big ugly self in. :P Gah, I loathe finals. At least they're pretty much over now, so I can work uninterrupted for the next two weeks. :D<strong>

**So what did you guys think? ;-)**

**Next chapter (which will be up soon! I promise!) is a real game-changer, so keep your eyes out. Lots of emotions running wild, some resolution to this chapter (which is kind of an awkward ending, I realize; I changed my original plan because I thought it was too OOC for Bloom), and an enormously major event that changes the course of history.**

**Intrigued yet? Well, you know, I'd be more motivated to work faster if you review...**

**All my love,**

**- Authoress**


	5. Arms

There were times when I loved being on the short side – I didn't look a step away from anorexia with my good metabolism, for example (unlike model-tall Stella), and I never had to worry about my heels making me too tall to dance with my boyfriend. Yes, there were definitely advantages to being slightly vertically challenged (as Flora would put it kindly). But when dealing with the bookshelves in the library, which were impossbily tall and reached almost all the way up to the high ceilings, it was more of a curse than a blessing.

The book I wanted was maybe two shelves up from where my fingertips could just barely brush if I stood on my tiptoes and stretched my arm so hard it hurt. This was so frustrating it almost made me want to give up, but after almost ten minutes of struggling to get it, I couldn't _not_ get the book now. Funny how stubborn pride can be.

I was literally seconds away from just transforming and flying up to reach it (how pathetic would _that_ be?) when I detected the presence of another person behind me. Inhaling that familiar smoky, spicy scent deep into my lungs, I felt hard muscle pressing against my back, and tensed; my body fighting its simulatenous urges to melt against him and run as far away as possible.

"Need some help, darling?" Baltor's voice was low in my ear, and shivers raced down my spine unbidden. Since he was almost half a foot taller than me, it was easy for him to reach up and grab the book, but not without practically gluing himself to my back (the spaces between shelves were not designed for more than one person to be in a row at a time). The close contact brought back a sudden rush of memories I'd tried so hard to keep buried, and a surge of desire with them that made my toes curl. I closed my eyes and unconsciously balled my hands into fists, trying my hardest to just stay still until it passed.

"What? No thank you?" After an incredibly awkward moment, I opened my eyes and maneuvered myself out from under the bookshelf to see him holding out a book to me.

It wasn't the book I'd wanted, but at this point I just wanted to get out of this situation. "Er, thanks," I said, reaching out to take it. Our fingers brushed briefly as the book changed hands, and in that split second it was like lightning racing through my veins. I could tell he felt it too, because he kept his hand there for a moment longer than necessary.

I hadn't taken a real breath since he'd appeared behind me, and I was starting to feel a little lightheaded, my lungs crying out for oxygen. Finally, he pulled away, staring at me with emotions I couldn't name swirling in those fascinating gold eyes. "Anytime," he said softly, before disappearing around the corner.

As soon as he was gone, I sighed and leaned against the bookshelf, my energy depleting like the aftermath of an adrenaline rush. Which, in a way, was like what that had been; certainly it had been the most physical contact we'd had since the… _incident_ (to call it simply a kiss would be demeaning).

We'd never talked about what happened that night. For at least a week or so immediately following we'd sort of avoided each other, going out to work at different times and curling up in different parts of the library when the cold became unbearable. And then eventually, we sort of migrated back together without ever mentioning what had brought us apart in the first place. The incident was far from forgotten, though; our relationship was much more formal now, as if this were nothing more than a business partnership and not what had been beginning to feel like a fledgling friendship. As crazy as it sounded, I missed him – missed his sarcastic remarks and our playful banter, lively debates by the fire, an encouraging word or two exactly whenever I needed them most.

But heaven forbid I broach the subject. Though the cracks were plainly visible, there was a sort of mutual understanding between us that what we had now was a lot better than what the alternative might be if we dared open Pandora's box. So we continued to dance around each other uncomfortably, both wishing we could fix this but not knowing how to do so without confronting the elephant in the room.

The solid weight of the book in my hand jolted me back to the present, and I cracked the spine, opening it to the first page. It didn't appear to be a hideously boring spell book or anything of that sort, so I might as well read it now, after all that.

That was all I ever seemed to do these days – work with whatever life threw my way, never stopping to consider the idea of taking things into my own hands.

The girl I used to be would have scorned me for that.

* * *

><p>"It's hopeless," I moaned, fighting the urge to cry.<p>

Baltor looked up at me, concerned. "What's wrong?" I opened my mouth to explain, but a sob escaped instead.

I'd just gone out for a quick, routine inspection to make sure the protection spells were holding, and found miles upon miles of land we'd spent weeks clearing blanketed under a fresh sheet of thick snow and ice. Somehow, the dark magic in the weather had broken through our defenses.

This wasn't the only thing making me so defeated; it was just the straw that broke the camel's back. I'd been fighting this for so long, trying to remain optimistic, forcing myself to believe there was a chance this would work, but now I didn't see any point in pretending anymore.

"What's the point of all this?" I cried. "Nothing's going to work. No matter what we do, no matter how hard we fight, the Ancestresses' spell is just too powerful. Sparx is going to stay a frozen wasteland for the rest of eternity, and nothing we do will ever change that. All that's going to happen if we stay here is that we'll just die. I bet they'd love that – would just die of laughter, wherever they are. The last heir of planet Sparx dead by their own magic after all. Irony's a bitch, ain't it? Ahahahaha!" Somewhere in all that, the crazy forced laughter turned into genuine tears, as I collapsed into the sobs I'd held back for so long.

I was crying so hard, I didn't even notice the strong, warm arms wrapped around me until I looked down and saw the wet tear stains all over his shirt. "Shhh," he soothed, tracing circles on the back of my neck comfortingly. His voice was soft and gentle, like the tone one might use to calm a hysterical child.

I wasn't exactly sure how I'd ended up on his lap without my noticing (I didn't think I'd been _that_ out of it), but I wasn't about to complain in this condition. Instead, I just focused on breathing steadily, resting my head in the curve of his shoulder (where, I couldn't help but notice, it fit perfectly) as he gently twisted his fingers in my hair. The constant, steady _thump-thump-thump_ of his heartbeat lulled me into a state of security.

Eventually, the hysteria ebbed, replacing by an overwhelming sense of fatigue. I could feel myself hovering on the brink of consciousness, when I swear I heard him whisper something into my hair.

"You're going to get your planet back, princess. No matter what I have to do."

I strained to see if he would say anything else (I wasn't sure if he thought I was awake or not), but the exhaustion hovered like fog, creeping in around the edges of my mind. Too worn out to fight it, I gave myself over to the dark depths.

* * *

><p>Two things called themselves to my attention when I woke up the next morning.<p>

One, Baltor was gone.

I might have been half out of it last night, but I distinctly remembered falling asleep with his arms around me. But I was definitely alone in the waking. I shivered slightly at the loss of his extra warmth.

Whatever that was last night (as much as it embarrassed me to remember my mini breakdown), it had given me a sudden clarity of mind – what we were doing, dancing around the topic of the incident like it didn't exist, was ridiculous. Then and there, I resolved to finally have that long-overdue conversation.

My new mental clarity didn't stretch so far as to cover what would happen once we did – certainly this was getting into _very_ uncharted territory here – but I didn't care. All I knew was that after last night, I did not want to lose him.

The second thing I noticed was the shaking.

I grew up in California (otherwise known as the earthquake capital of Earth), so I knew how to deal with quakes. But this felt different, not the least of which being I'd never experienced anything like this on Sparx. Something wasn't right here; I could feel it in the air.

I reached out to Baltor with the Dragon Fire connection, wondering if wherever he was, maybe he had an answer to this. But when moments passed and I couldn't find him, a new, chilling fear gripped me to the bone. I remembered the words he'd whispered to me last night when I was barely conscious: _You__'__re __going __to __get __your __planet __back, __no __matter __what __I __have __to __do._

Somehow, that did not fill me with hope.

* * *

><p>I followed the shaking – which hadn't given in even for a second, yet more proof that this was far from normal – to what I'd deemed to be the epicenter: a couple miles from the library, in a fairly clear expanse of rock that had managed to stay snow-free. My suspicions were confirmed when I saw him standing in the center, power radiating from his hands channeled intensely into some kind of beam that was crushing through the rock – apparently, deep enough to cause the quakes. There was a loud roar and rumble as tons of rock were crushed and moved, and the wind was fierce – I could barely keep him in my line of sight, and I doubted he could see me, as intently focused as he was on whatever it was he was doing.<p>

Nothing seemed to make sense, though. What was he trying to do? And why couldn't I sense him with the Dragon Fire connection anymore? That was the truly scary thing – no matter what, I'd always been able to do that. But here I was, standing maybe ten feet away from him, and the tingle was gone.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I demanded, flying close enough for him to hear me. Even then, I had to scream at the top of my lungs over the deafening sounds.

Baltor looked up, startled. "Bloom! What are you doing here?" The shaking lessened slightly, as his concentration ebbed. "You weren't supposed to… I never thought that you'd…"

"That I'd what? Feel the quake? Yeah, little hard to disguise that." I didn't mean to sound ticked off, but somehow that was how it came out, and I had to admit that I didn't actually mind all that much. I mean, I _was_ ticked off. The concern just happened to overpower it in my mind.

He opened his mouth to respond, but at that moment there was an earsplitting _crack_ as his magic seemed to penetrate something billions of miles beneath the surface. The aftershock felt like a ripple in the fabric of space and time, and it brought with it a surge of warmth and magic that I felt in every fiber of my being. Suddenly, it hit me what he was trying to do.

"Are you crazy?" I yelled, as his body started to glow with Dragon Fire energy. "You won't survive this! You'll burn up! And even if by some miracle that doesn't happen, you were _made_ from the Dragon Fire. How long do you think you'll survive without it?"

He turned to stare at me with those gold eyes, which against the brilliance of his magic seemed to sparkle like stars. But there was also a resigned sort of sadness in them, like someone who's seen his fate and simply accepted it.

_No __matter __what __I __have __to __do._

_ He __knows __exactly __what __he__'__s __doing_, I realized, the understanding like a shock of cold water. _He__'__s __doing __this__… __for __me. __Because __he __thinks __this __will __make __me __happy._

The light was so intense, I had to shield my eyes; it was like staring directly into the sun. "Don't do this," I begged, feeling on the verge of tears. "Please, don't do this."

But if he could hear me, he gave no sign of acknowledgment.

My throat felt tight. Something painful twisted in my gut for reasons I couldn't entirely explain. _I __can__'__t __let __him __do __this_, I thought. Already, his form was a mere outline against the radiance of the Dragon Fire; soon, I knew, it would be nothing. And there wasn't a thing I could do to stop it.

_Or __is __there__…__?_

_Would __that __work?_

A second wave of heat energy rippled through the planet, and I braced myself against the blast, my resolve strengthened. If there was any chance it would work, I had to do it _now_.

Without sparing a second thought, I reached deep inside my soul and channeled my own Dragon Fire, erecting another brilliant glowing sphere around myself. I bit my tongue to keep from screaming at the all-consuming pain, like part of my spirit was being separated from me. The world flared bright and hot around me, and then everything went shining white, like I was being enveloped into the sun itself.

And then… nothing.

* * *

><p>Flying.<p>

Like my bones had turned to jelly, feather-light and weightless; without anything to keep me grounded, like I might float away on the slightest breeze.

It took me quite a while to realize that I was not actually as untethered as I felt; that instead of floating on clouds, I was lying on a bed of what felt like soft grass. _But __how __is __that __possible? __There__'__s __no __grass __on __Sparx__…_

Every muscle in my body felt achy and sore, like I'd swum thousands of miles underwater, and it took a Herculean strength just to lift my head five or six inches off the ground. Finally I managed, my eyes growing wider and wider as I took in the sights around me.

This… couldn't be Sparx. Sparx was an icy frozen wasteland, while this place… Full of warmth and light, lush trees and flowering meadows, a sparkling sun high in the clearest blue sky I'd ever seen…

_Could __I __have __done __it?_

Slowly, I pulled myself into a sitting position, wincing at the shockwaves of pain any slight movement sent racing through my body. Even though there were no physical wounds on my person, there was still intense pain like nothing I'd ever felt before, like a scar on my soul. I could feel myself healing, though – renewed by the life-giving restorative powers of the Great Dragon's Flame that now pulsed throughout every molecule of air on Sparx.

Baltor's plan, I'd realized in the heat of the moment, had been to transfer his Dragon Fire to the core of Sparx, heating it up from the inside out. (Hence, the earthquakes as he cut through billions of miles of rock to reach the core.) If I hadn't gotten there in time, he most likely would've burned up from the sheer intensity of what he was trying to do, or just died some other way from giving up the power that had created him.

Because I drew my power from the Dragon Fire, but didn't rely on it the same way he did, I had been able to add some of my own without much self-sacrifice. And it was easy enough for me to heal from it, now that Sparx – the source of the Dragon Fire in the magical universe – had been restored to its former glory.

_But __was __it __enough?_ I wondered desperately, twisting my neck for any sign that I'd managed to achieve my _real_ goal. All I could see for what looked like miles was grass and trees.

Then I heard a pained groaning sound to my left, and immediately jerked my head to see what was wrong.

Sweet relief flooded my veins.

Baltor lay immobile near me, fingers twitching as the only sign of life. The fabric of his gloves and the edges of his jacket appeared to be singed or burnt, but other than that he was remarkably whole and alive.

And then the tears started to fall; hot and fast they stung my cheeks. What I was crying for, I wasn't quite sure – tears of joy over having finally accomplished my goal, tears of sorrow for the fact that my parents weren't here to see this, tears of heartache for the loss I'd almost suffered…

I was still crying when I heard another groan, and then through tear-soaked eyelashes saw his eyelids flutter and blink open as he slowly sat up. He stared at his hands in amazement, like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "I'm… alive," he said softly, more to himself than anything.

All my resentment towards him for what he'd tried to do – the choice he'd tried to make for me – came bubbling up to the surface, and even though I was grateful beyond words that he was alive, the first words that came out my mouth were, "Sorry to disappoint. If I'd have known you were suicidal, I'd have kept you away from all sharp objects."

He chuckled softly, and his face contorted in pain from the slight movement. Immediately, my anger dissipated.

"You… you scared the crap out of me," I said, wiping the tears from my eyes. "You are _never _allowed to pull a stunt like that again, you hear me? _Never_." (Granted, this would've been more convincing if my cheeks weren't still tear-stained.)

His chest rose and fell unevenly, like he was struggling to breathe. "I don't suppose I'd have to now." Carefully, he craned his head to take in the extreme beauty of my formerly dead planet. "It's even more beautiful than I remembered."

Rage boiled inside of me at his cavalier treatment of something that meant so much to me. Coupled with my extremely fragile emotional state at the moment, it was not a nice mix. "You don't get it, do you?" I exclaimed through the tears, which were starting to fall again, much to my disdain. "I don't know what you were thinking, but I wouldn't have wanted this if you had died for it. I couldn't have done _any_ of this without you."

"So you finally admit that this was more than a one-person job?" The light, teasing tone of his voice made me want to scream. How was it possible that he was more or less himself after all this, while I felt like a giant mess of broken pieces inside?

I sighed frustratedly, feeling unable to put everything into words. "I couldn't have done any of this without _you_. When I realized what you were going to do, it just about killed me. I don't know what I would've done if you died. I…" I hesitated. "I love you."

I held my breath as I watched him process my last statement. There was so much I had left unsaid – how I'd been wrestling with my conscience ever since I started to think about what would happen after we brought Sparx back; how much I'd come to value his company; that I'd dreamed about the incident for weeks; how I'd always found him attractive and fascinating even when we were on opposing sides…

His face was a blank slate, completely unreadable, and for one terrifying moment I worried that I'd done something irreversible. My heart did a somersault and smacked straight into the icy depths of my stomach.

Then he broke into a grin, his entire face lighting up in a way I'd never seen from him before, and somehow I just knew he'd heard everything I'd left unspoken, loud and clear. "Took you long enough," he said, pulling me into his arms and tilting my chin up to meet his lips in a soft kiss.

The rest of the world seemed to melt away at his touch, and my eyes slid closed, tiny jolts of electricity racing through my veins. It was almost supernatural, the effect he had on my body. _Is __it __the __Dragon __Fire __connection?_ I wondered. _Or __maybe __is __it __just __Baltor?_

When we finally parted, he leaned his forehead against my own, so we were still intimately close. He reached up to push a piece of hair out of my face, his fingers tracing a path from behind my ear down the curve of my jaw, eventually intertwining with my own in my lap. "I love you too," he said, in a low, smooth voice that sent shivers down my spine.

"I don't know what's going to happen now, and I don't know how my friends are going to react, but I am never going to leave you, okay? And you are going to behave yourself, because I don't think I could survive if I had to go through that agai–"

He cut me off with a long, drugging kiss that I felt in every cell of my body, leaving me too blissed out to think coherently. "Bloom, darling? I love you, but will you please just shut up?"

I opened my mouth to protest, but then he was kissing me again, leaving me breathless with desire, and I never, ever wanted him to stop.

Lucky for me, he didn't.

_I never thought that you would be the one to hold my heart_

_But you came around and you knocked me off the ground from the start_

_I hope that you see right through my walls_

_I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling_

_I'll never let our love get so close_

_You put your arms around me and I'm home_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: How's that for a Christmas present, y'all? ;-)<strong>

**Credit where credit is due, of course - the idea of transferring Dragon Fire to the core of Sparx to defrost the ice belongs to waterbendergirl101. No one will say I plagiarized. :-)**

**So as it stands, this story is now officially half over. You guys better hold on tight, because the second half is even more crazy (aka fun to write :D ) than the first was. What, you thought all the fun stopped once I got them together? Never.**

**And since I'm probably not going to get to say it any sooner, Happy New Year's everyone! Let's hope 2012 is filled with nothing but good things (including finishing some stories, haha!).**

**Catch you on the flip side,**

**- Authoress**


	6. Fix You

"Mmm…" I couldn't contain my sigh of delight as I felt gentle lips on the side of my neck, kissing and nibbling – even if it was the _last_ thing I should be focusing on right now.

From behind me, I felt Baltor's body press against my own with a familiar possessive weight. My entire body tingled as he continued to lavish attention on my neck. "That tickles," I finally protested feebly, smiling despite myself.

I could almost feel him smirk against my skin. "Really? You're not laughing."

In the split second it took for me to open my mouth to respond, he had me spun around and pulled against him, kissing me so deeply it temporarily overrided any other thought in my mind. I let out a low moan as my arms slid around his neck of their own accord, flames of desire licking at my insides. There was nothing in the world but him, but us, but this impossibly fantastic kiss…

It took a ridiculous amount of strength to pull away, to remind myself of the task at hand. "You are impossible," I scolded him, wrenching myself free of his tight grip, my resolve strong even as my skin cried out for his touch. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop distracting me? Heaven forbid you actually do some work."

The palace was every bit as golden and grandiose as I'd imagined it to be, but after almost twenty years of lying under enormous sheets of ice, it had fallen into a bit of a state of disrepair, even though the rest of the planet was beautiful and perfect again. So I'd been spending the last few weeks or so going around and restoring it. It _should_ have been done by now, but unfortunately (or fortunately… depending on which way you looked at it), Baltor had an annoying little habit of pulling me away from my work to make out all the time. Not that I was complaining… too much…

"How am I supposed to help myself?" His voice was low and smooth now, its velvety tones holding promises that made my toes curl. "You're just so beautiful–" he brushed a kiss against the side of my jaw "and passionate–" another kiss, slightly below it "and smart–" this one was fully on my neck "and sexy–" his lips traced my collarbone, and my heartbeat fluttered erratically "and beautiful–" oh God, they were going lower…

By now, almost any thought of going back to dusting tapestries had left my head, but I wasn't about to give up so easily. I sucked in a shallow breath of air. "You said that already."

"Did I?" He looked at me with eyes darkened to the color of honey, and I felt warm and tingly all over.

The Dragon Fire hummed with electricity, like my body was a live wire met its spark. I was nineteen years old and in love. What was so wrong in enjoying it?

_We're the only ones living here anyways. The cleaning can wait._

* * *

><p>Once I was old enough to really think, I hated fairy tales as a child, because I couldn't stand the thought of 'happily ever after'. <em>What happens next?<em> I'd always wonder, driving Vanessa crazy with my refusal to aceept that that was the end. Because really – the prince kisses the princess, they ride off into the sunset together, and that's it? Their life is nothing but sunshine and rainbows for the rest of eternity? Impossible. There's always more to a story.

That feeling of being too good to be true had plagued me ever since that fateful day we'd unfrozen Sparx. I'd saved my planet and found my soul mate (quite possibly literally, if you wanted to get all technical about it); sounded a hell of a lot like a 'happily ever after' to me. But because I didn't believe in those, a part of me had always secretly been waiting for the other shoe to drop.

And now it was.

"What's the point of having Sparx be habitable again if no one else but us is living on it?" I moaned, dropping down onto Baltor's lap on the couch and laying my head against his chest. "It might as well still be covered in ice, for all that's really changed."

"Don't talk like that, love," he insisted, running his fingers through my hair soothingly. "People will come back."

"But how are they going to know it's not an ice kingdom anymore in the first place?" That was my biggest worry – it wasn't like I could just run around the universe screaming "Sparx is habitable again!" I knew I could always go to the Magix Council or something, but the thought always made me nervous, especially when I tried to factor Baltor into that equation.

The truth was, after almost a year of isolation, the idea of going back to the rest of the magical dimension seemed… odd, now. And of course, as soon as my friends got word that I was alright, they'd all come rushing to see how I was, demanding answers. As much as I wanted to be a true princess, with a people to govern, a part of me kind of liked the solitude. Certainly I would miss the freedom I had to just be with the man I loved, without inspiring a zillion questions.

And still…

"We'll figure something out," he reassured me, placing a gentle kiss against my temple. "Don't you worry your pretty little head about this. There's nothing you can't do when you put your mind to it."

I was stunned at how optimistic he was being. Then again, he had always been the thing that kept me going, had always been able to talk me down whenever I felt most depressed and ready to quit. (Sometimes I wondered if he'd had feelings for me the whole time, and just was very good at hiding them. It definitely seemed possible; maybe one day I'd ask.)

But even if he was right, and soon people would flood back into Sparx, there was still a significant piece of my heart that needed mending.

"What about my parents?" I asked out loud for the first time. "Do you think… is it possible for me to find them? Bring them home?"

I had refused to give voice to this desire – to find my parents – for so long because, well, it almost felt a little selfish. Here I was, with a planet, a kingdom, and a lover, and I wanted _more_? But there was no denying that at the end of the day, a part of me would always long to know the truth about what happened to them, and whether it was possible that I might get to know them.

I felt Baltor tense underneath me, and realized too late that this was probably an awkward subject for him, given everything. To his credit, though, he recovered quickly and said, "I wish I had an answer for you, love, but I'm not all-knowing. However, I do have an idea."

"Really?" I perked up, twisting my torso to face him.

"The Trix are three of the most gossip-crazed females I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. But I couldn't help but overhear them talking one night about a trick they played on you your freshman year – something to do with making you believe you were a witch?"

I laughed at the memory. "Yeah, I remember that. But what does that have anything to do with–" I stopped myself short as the answer hit me. "That book from Cloud Tower, that will answer any question you ask it!"

For about ten seconds, I was triumphant. Then I slumped defeatedly against him again. "But what's the use of that? You're not seriously suggesting we go break into Cloud Tower, are you?"

"As fun as I'm sure that would be–" he wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me upright "I had something else in mind. I'm sure you barely noticed anything besides your trashy romance novels, but the library in the mountains has _thousands_ of powerful and ancient spells." He grinned. "And lucky for us, I happened to find a twin to that book from Cloud Tower."

My eyes widened at the thought, and I leaped up off his lap. "Well then what are we waiting for? Let's go right now!"

He laughed. "As you wish."

* * *

><p>"Here it is." I remembered the book from Cloud Tower as having a dark blue cover, but this one was sort of dark golden-yellow. Nevertheless, the pages had that same subtle unearthly glow, and when I opened it, the pages inside were blank, just waiting for me to ask my question.<p>

I hesitated, almost losing my nerve. "Maybe this was a stupid idea," I started, feeling my confidence fade.

Baltor's hand was strong on my shoulder, giving me much-needed support. "Nobody's forcing you to do this, love," he said. "But I think that if you don't, you'll spend the rest of your life wondering what the answer would've been."

I sighed. As always, he was right. "You always know exactly what to say to me."

"It's a gift." He reached down and kissed me softly, then took my hand and placed it on the page. "Go on, now. Ask."

I took a deep breath. "What happened to my parents?"

A surge of light emitted from the book, so bright I had to close my eyes. When I opened them again, I saw a vision of the three Ancestresses, much as I had the first time I'd used the book. Belladona, the one I'd always thought looked like a bit like Icy (with, you know, an extra thousand years added to her) turned to me with a cold, piercing stare that sent shivers down my spine even though I knew she was just a vision. "Princess of Sparx, what a pleasure." Her gravelly, raspy voice made me cringe. "Your persistence is amusing. A smarter person would know when to give up."

I gulped. "I'm never giving up on my parents," I said in a strong clear voice. "I want to know the truth about what happened to them. All of it."

"Very well. It is nothing you have not heard before. Your parents, King Oritel and Queen Miriam, were the ones who defeated us in the final battle for planet Sparx. They sealed us away in another dimension, far removed from the rest of the magical universe, but not without condemning themselves to the same fate."

I thought my heart would physically stop beating. "My parents… are trapped with you?"

She cackled maniacally, the high-pitched sound grating on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard. "The Obsidian Dimension is beyond the reach of anyone in the rest of the magical universe. For as long as we remain exiled, so too will your parents suffer and rot."

My throat felt tight. "No…"

If anything, her evil smile only grew larger. "The truth hurts, does it not?"

With a start, I was yanked out of the vision. White spots danced in front of my eyes, and when they finally cleared, I saw Baltor with the book in his hands, hovering over me looking concerned.

"Are you alright, my love?" Only then did I realize that the vision was made for only me to see; to him, I must've just seemed like I was in a trance or something. "What did the book tell you?"

The enormity of the situation hit me like a tidal wave, and I collapsed into sobs.

"Shhh…" To his credit, he didn't miss a beat; just pulled me into his arms, not saying anything, letting me cry for as long as I needed. And cry I did – all the tears I'd held back whenever I thought about my parents, that damn hope keeping my spirits alive and the tears at bay. Now, though, there was no point in pretending anymore. My heart felt like it had imploded in my chest, like a black hole destroying me from the inside out.

_They're really gone… gone forever, with no way to get them back…_

"I can't imagine how much you must be hurting right now," I heard him say, as I struggled to catch my breath through the sobs. "I know there's nothing I can ever say that will take the pain away, but I have a story for you. Maybe it will help."

A part of me bristled at the idea that I could be calmed with a story like a little girl, but eventually the curious part of me won out. Baltor never told stories; this was bound to be fascinating. My chest trembled with the exertion of trying to control my breathing, as I fought to keep the endless sobs at bay so I could listen.

"You know my story – how the Ancestresses created me from a dark ember of the Dragon Fire, and that I am neither man nor demon, but some combination of the two." I couldn't help but shudder at the thought, even though I'd come to terms with this a long time ago. "What you don't know, though, is that I grew up on Sparx like any other child, raised by a young widow that the Ancestresses found to care for me so they wouldn't have to bother. Her name was Allison, and she was beautiful, but even more so, she was kind. She'd never had children of her own, and so she raised me and treated me just like any other child. If she knew the truth about me – and how could she not, at the unnatural rate I developed? – she never let it prejudice her." His voice grew soft. "I think of her as my true mother, even though she was nothing of the sort."

_What happened to her?_ I wondered, not trusting myself to open my mouth for fear of setting off another crying fit.

"I was fully grown after about ten years – the result of my unique heritage – and then the Ancestresses came back for me. Allison begged me not to go – by then, I'm sure she knew why they had created me – but there was nothing keeping me from leaving besides her. You have to understand, Bloom, that even though Allison was able to see past the things that made me different, no one else could. I had no friends or lovers; everyone called me a freak of nature, and I suppose they were right." My heart ached at the straightforward way he said this, like he'd simply accepted that it wasn't his lot in life to have people care for him. "So when the Ancestresses returned, offering explanations for my abnormality and promising me revenge on all those who had scorned me… it sounded like a dream come true." He sighed. "In hindsight, of course, it's crystal clear that they'd simply manipulated my circumstances to create the desired emotional effect. The Dragon Fire is at its most powerful when its user is not fully in control of their emotions, as we both know.

"But there was still Allison. I refused to simply leave her and never look back, even as I found my place with the Ancient Witches. And even though she hated what I was doing, she still acted as if she were blind to the truth, and loved me just the same." His voice took on a sad, wistful quality. "She really was incredible. If only I had been able to protect her."

My ears pricked. By now, the weeping had more or less dissolved, as every part of me longed to hear the rest of his story. _Which was probably his intent,_ I realized a heartbeat later.

"I tried to intervene; take her away from Sparx, where she'd be safe from the worst of the fighting. But she was stubborn, and refused to leave the place where she'd lived all her life. And so I lost the only person who'd ever shown me genuine kindness.

"When she was gone, I felt like I had nothing left to live for, so I lashed out, becoming the cruel and fearsome dark wizard you knew me as. My heart was hardened from the pain of her death, and so it would remain… until you came along, Bloom."

"M-me?" I stuttered, the first words to leave my lips since the book had spoken to me.

"Yes, you." His fingers gently twisted in my hair. "You are the only other person besides Allison who's ever shown me true compassion. You remind me that just because I was created from the darkness, it does not control who I am, and who I can be."

I felt something wet against my cheeks, and realized I was crying again. "You… I…"

"You will get through this," he continued, reaching up to catch a tear in its descent down my cheekbone. "You've survived without them for nineteen years, and you will learn to live with this. It won't be easy, but you'll do it; I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you will. Because you are the strongest person I have ever known, Bloom."

"You really think so?"

"I know so. And you won't have to do it alone. I'll be with you every step of the way." Through my tear-soaked eyelashes, I saw the sparkle of something shiny reflected off the firelight, and wiped my eyes to see it clearer. "This was hers – Allison's – and I'd be honored if it would be yours."

My jaw dropped.

I couldn't speak. My mind was racing faster than the speed of light, thoughts a giant mess all bumping up against each other and rattling in my brain like bumper cars, but my tongue was glued to the roof of my mouth. All I could do was stare at the ring, which was quite beautiful in an untraditional sort of way – a topaz (dark orangey-gold precious stone) set in an intricately wrought gold setting, with a little tiny diamond on either side.

"I know this is hardly the most opportune time, but seeing you like this… I wanted you to know just how much you mean to me." Lightening the mood a bit, he cracked a half-grin. "Marry me?"

"Yes," I said, finally reclaiming my tongue. "A million times yes." He smiled, and slid the ring onto my left ring finger. I lifted my hand and moved it back and forth slightly, watching the ring sparkle in the dim light. The uncharacteristic weight was like a comfort, an anchor in the storm – just like Baltor. "I love you." I said softly, leaning against him to bury my face in his shoulder.

"I love you too."

_When you try your best but you don't suceed_

_When you get what you want but not what you need_

_And the tears come streaming down your face_

_When you lose something you can't replace_

_Lights will guide you home_

_And ignite your bones_

_And I will try to fix you_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: ...and there's still more! ;-)<strong>

**So yes, I played with the canon of the movie, about having Oritel and Miriam be gone (FYI, that bit with the vision of the Ancestresses was originally meant for Leap of Faith, but then the first try sucked so hard we rewrote it, and so I salvaged it for this story). Mostly I just couldn't think of a way to bring them back and deal with their reaction to Sparxshipping. (I really should write something about that someday... hmm...) And of course, it gave Bloom a chance to listen to Baltor's own sad story (how'd I do with that, by the way?).**

**One important thing to be sure to keep in mind: between each chapter, a good amount of time is assumed to have passed; at least a few months or so, sometimes more when specified otherwise. This becomes important next chapter...**

**And now I must be off. Please click that little button down there and drop me a line or two - please?**

**Au revoir!**

**- Authoress**


	7. Safe and Sound

"Ahem? Your Highness?" A coughing noise to my right startled me out of my daydream, and I looked over to see my head royal adviser, Lord Bartleby, staring at me with a look I'd come to know very well – the look of someone who's displeased but knows they can't say anything about it because of royal protocol. As much as I sometimes hated the way people treated me as Queen, there were definitely times when it came in handy – like when I started spacing out during boring meetings, for example.

I sat up straighter and tried to look like I had been paying attention all along. "Yes?"

He smiled tightly at me. "I think you'll agree with me when I say that it's been a long day, and perhaps we should adjourn court."

"Sounds good to me." The handful of other advisers and nobles all bid me farewell as they headed for the door, but Bartleby stayed put in his chair at my right. "Did you have something you wanted to speak with me about privately?" I asked, staring at him pointedly.

He looked down. "The other courtiers and I are… concerned, My Queen, about the situation of an heir." I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from sighing, now that I knew where this was going. "Please forgive me for this, but especially with Sparx's situation being so tenuous, that you remain unmarried is troublesome. I know that you are young, but you have a responsibility to your kingdom to ensure that the line of succession continues." His cheeks were turning red as he said all this, like he was at war with himself over whether he should say it at all.

Out of force of habit, I glanced down at my left ring finger, where a certain topaz ring was conspicuously absent. "I… will keep that in mind, Lord Bartleby." Feeling anxious, I pushed back my high-backed chair and got to my feet. "And now, if you'll excuse me, I have a prior appointment to attend to."

"Of course, My Queen." He bowed low before hurrying out the door, looking very flustered.

Lord Bartleby was far from the first person to feel the need to remind me of my 'queenly duty' to marry and produce an heir, and heavens knows he wouldn't be the last. Princes and noblemen came from all over the realms, seeking to win my hand and the much-coveted title of King of Sparx; each and every one was rebuffed, of course, but more just kept coming.

I hated this with a burning passion – hated the lying and the secrecy and the being forced to entertain titled pompous assholes who just wanted a throne and didn't actually care about me. And I _hated_ the growing anxieties among my people over my unmarried and child-free status. Sparx was so new and fraught with troubles as is, it shouldn't have more unncessarily added like this. More than anything, I wanted to destroy the façade; to be free to tell the world that I _was_ married, to the most wonderful man in the universe.

But of course, I couldn't do that.

Sighing, I pulled my ring out from an unseen pocket in the formal blue dress I wore in court (which I also hated with a burning passion, but there was absolutely nothing I could do about that) and slid it into my finger. The familiar weight was soothing, but it wasn't enough to pacify me completely as I ruminated on how, exactly, I had wound up in this peculiar and maddening situation.

_Because you fell for an escaped convict,_ a little voice in the back of my head said. _Wonderful taste you got there, girl._

No matter how much I tried not to think about it like that, it was true that Baltor was the reason I was in this predicament. If he had been any other man, I would've been free to have a grand wedding worthy of the Queen of Sparx, free to wear my ring in court; to have him sit on the throne with me and openly live in the palace, instead of skulking around like a ghost, using illusion spells and invisibility charms to keep anyone from knowing the truth about him. There would be no lying, no secrecy, and no fears over the line of succession.

But he was undeniably, completely worth it. So for now, I was willing to live with this twisted reality, if it meant that at night I could be with the man I loved.

_Still_, I thought, resting my ringed hand on my stomach, where I imagined the fabric of the gown was starting to strain slightly, _this can't go on forever. Sooner or later, something's got to change._

_Maybe sooner than later._

* * *

><p>The royal suite looked unoccupied when I finished my shower, but the tingle on the back of my neck told me otherwise. <em>That is so Baltor,<em> I laughed inwardly_._ Amused, I decided to play along, taking slow steps towards the bed and looking around the room with eyes wide. "What's this? I guess I'm all alone in this big empty room… with this big empty bed…" I made my voice go sultry and suggestive, the way I knew he couldn't resist. "Whatever will I do?"

The air shimmered and he became visible, lounging almost cat-like on the bed, wearing nothing but a pair of loose-fitting white cotton pants, looking dangerous and inviting and like he _belonged_ there. I saw his eyes darken as he took in what I was wearing – a barely-there pale blue slip made of a silk so fine and delicate it was almost see-through – and his lips curled into a smirk that sent shivers down my spine. Yes, tonight was definitely going to be a good night.

"You're later than I'd expected you," he said as I climbed onto the bed and made myself comfortable, my legs straddling his torso. A low growl escaped his throat as I settled in, and he pulled my head down to his for a searing kiss, my still-wet curls falling in both of our faces like a curtain. "Mmm… Did you eat?"

"Not really…" I inhaled sharply as his tongue traced my collarbone, left fully exposed by the low neckline of my nightgown, and tried to fight the overwhelming surge of desire that raced through me. I had something important to tell him… didn't I? It was hard to remember now with him nibbling on my neck.

"You should eat, then," he murmured in my ear, sitting upright and sliding me off of him in one fluid movement. He nudged my elbow, and I turned to find a plate of cheese, fruit, and bread sitting on the side table near the bed, along with a bottle of champagne and two crystal flutes. "Thank me later…" My eyes slid closed as goosebumps erupted on my skin at the low, suggestive tone of his voice.

The sight of the champagne made me wince, and reminded me what I'd been so anxious to tell him about earlier. _But I guess it couldn't hurt to eat something first…_ "You are incredible," I said, kissing him full on the lips.

He yielded to the kiss for a moment, then pushed me off and said in a fakely menacing tone of voice, "Don't make me feed you."

I pouted suggestively. "Won't you?"

"Minx," he muttered under his breath, smiling despite himself as he reached over and plucked a cluster of grapes off the plate.

I let him feed me for a while, still barely spending a second not touching him in some way. The electric energy that seemed to draw us together had not faded in the slightest with time; if anything, I thought, it had almost intensified. _Yes, Baltor is most definitely worth all the lying and secrecy_.

But there were some things even the most artful of deceptions couldn't mask.

I bit my lip as he popped the champagne, deftly handling two glasses at once. "For my gorgeous wife," he said, handing me a glass. Hesitating, I watched the tiny bubbles rise to the surface, then set the glass down on the side table.

"I… kind of have something to tell you," I said, watching his face turn serious as he set his champagne down as well. "It's not bad – in fact, it should be wonderful – but it would also mean a lot of changes, and I'm just not sure how you're going to react."

"What is it, my love?" He reached for my hand and started tracing tiny circles on it soothingly. "You know you can tell me anything."

I took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing_. "I… I'm pregnant."

His hand froze on top of mine. When I chanced a glance at his eyes, they were unreadable. Assuming the worst, my heart dropped to my feet.

_I know we never really talked about this, but we weren't exactly careful either… he must've known this was a possibility… and I have that responsibility to my people… I can't believe this. Now what am I going to do? _

I was so lost in my thoughts, I barely heard him when he finally responded. "…how far?"

"What?"

Before I could take another breath I was in his arms, and he was kissing me like I held the last oxygen left in the world. I was too surprised to do anything but instinctively kiss him back, and was breathless when he finally pulled back. "How far along are you?"

"Um, maybe two months?"

"I didn't think it was possible," he mused to himself, in a voice so low I barely caught it. His hands reached out towards my stomach (which I imagined looked bigger already, even though I knew most women didn't start showing at this point) with what could only be described as a look of wonderment on his face. "This is… amazing."

"You really mean that?" I don't know why a part of me felt like I had to keep questioning it.

"I most certainly do." He stared back at me with such unadulturated love in those gold eyes that it actually took my breath away. "You're going to make a fantastic mother, Bloom." When he kissed me again, I felt it in every cell of my body.

"You know what this means, then," I teased, trying to lighten the mood. "You _have_ to let me go to the Magix Council now."

The spell was broken, thankfully (the intensity of it was starting to make me uncomfortable), and he groaned, leaning back against the pillows. "Come on!" I insisted, laying my head against his chest. "We can't exactly lie our way out of this one. It's time to tell the truth."

We'd been arguing about this for months; I wanted to go to the Magix Council and fight to get his criminal charges overturned, so he could stop living in the shadows. He was adamant in his refusal: it was just a waste of time, could only end badly, and anyway, what was so wrong with the way things were now? But a baby on the way changed everything. If this little person in my stomach was going to be the heir of Sparx, I couldn't exactly keep going on like I was enjoying being young and single.

I said as much, trying in vain to convince him. "You put too much faith in them," Baltor insisted, twisting his fingers absentmindedly in my hair. "There's no way they're actually going to acquit me. I might as well just walk into that room in handcuffs and agree to go back to Omega."

His words pierced my heart like knives, and for a second I dared to think that he might be right. "No. I won't let that happen. I've got some pull in there, don't I?" A plan was starting to take shape in my head, vague notions of ideas stringing themselves together into something clear and coherent. "I saved the magical dimension three times – while I was in freaking high school! – and I broke the Ancestresses' curse on Sparx, singlehandedly as far as they know. So there's my word, which should be good for a lot; I'll even submit to blood tests or whatever they want to prove I'm not under a spell. And just the fact that you're alive and haven't been conquering realms and stealing spells in the past few years is something, right?" I felt flushed and almost dizzy with exertion, like I was running instead of just thinking at the speed of light. "Plus I've got all that sympathy from being the last survivor of Sparx. I could even play the hormonal pregnant woman card, see if that gets me anywhere…"

I heard a noise like a laugh, and looked over to see him shaking like he was trying to contain his laughter. A spark of indignation flared to life in my chest. "_Why_ are you laughing at me?"

It took him a moment to compose himself long enough to speak. His eyes were shining with laughter and love. "I'd almost completely forgotten what a force to be reckoned with you are when you've got something in your head, love," he said, pulling me against him and placing a kiss on my forehead. "I don't think anyone in their right mind could stand a chance against you all worked up."

I smiled despite myself. "So does that mean you'll let me do it?"

"I think at this point even if I said no, you'll just do it anyway." I opened my mouth to protest, but then he was kissing me again, and all other thoughts completely left my head.

"Besides," he added, his mouth curling into a smirk, "if it doesn't go well I can always just wipe their memories."

"Baltor!" I raised my arm to whack him on the shoulder, but he caught it right before it would've made contact. His gold eyes gleamed wickedly.

"I like it when you play rough."

His words sent tingles through my entire body, and a rush of heat pooled in my core. "I love you," I whispered, as he leaned in to kiss me again, fingers reaching for the hem of my tiny nightgown.

"I love you too," he answered; the last thing I heard before I was lost in an ecstasy of paradise only he could give me.

* * *

><p>Vanessa always used to tell me that if something seems too good to be true, it usually is. I never really knew what exactly she meant, and at the time, didn't really think enough of it to care.<p>

Now I did.

There was no warning whatsoever; I just woke up one night with a terrible stabbing pain in my stomach. My legs and the sheets were slick with blood.

I screamed until my throat was raw.

* * *

><p>"You're supposed to be a doctor. You're supposed to be the best. I trusted that my wife was in good hands with you. And now you're telling me that you don't know why this happened? What kind of a goddamn doctor are you?" Baltor was terrifyingly furious, his gold eyes burning with rage in a way that was eerily remniscent of who he used to be. No wonder the royal physician looked like he wanted to crawl under his desk and hide.<p>

In Dr. Winters' defense, he had been handling the fact that his beloved queen was married to and pregnant by a convicted felon very well up until now. As much as I knew Baltor had to scare him, he was utterly professional whenever I'd come in for a prenatal checkup, and hadn't gone blabbing our secrets to the press or anything.

I couldn't imagine finding a better doctor, and so I felt bad for the poor guy – as much as I could feel _anything_, anymore. I felt frozen in time and place, like someone had scooped out my insides and left me a hollow shell of a person. While Baltor scared the crap out of Dr. Winters, I was just curled up in a ball on the exam table, too numb to even speak; like I was experiencing the world through a hazy cloud of pain and loss.

Dr. Winters lifted his jaw slightly, trying to appear confident, though his hands shook as he spoke. "If this were an ordinary _human_ pregnancy, there would be no possible explanation except an unhappy chance. It was a perfectly healthy baby, growing in a perfectly normal way, with no signs of anything wrong. What I believe was the problem, then, is pure speculation, because this has never happened before. The tests have reaffirmed my hypothesis, but I have no other real proof that this is what happened; that this is even possible."

"So this is some crackpot theory then? I don't want you wasting our time when my wife is traumatized enough already. If you don't know why this happened, then I'm going to find someone who does."

"Let him talk," I said in a dull, lifeless voice that I barely recognized as my own. "Dr. Winters is the best in his field. If he thinks he knows what happened, I want to hear what he has to say."

Baltor hesitated, then nodded and stepped back, coming over to sit by my side and squeezing my hand tightly. "As my wife wishes."

Dr. Winters shot me a grateful smile, but my brief moment of lucidity was gone as quickly as it had come on, and all I could do was stare blankly into space as he started to talk. "Comprehensive studies have shown that magic is inherited like a genetic trait. Most fairies or witches notice their own magic going haywire while pregnant, because it is in fact their child's magic asserting itself. This usually happens after the third month, once the most critical development has taken place."

"…And?" Baltor snapped impatiently.

"Dark magic… ahem…" Dr. Winters took a deep breath, nervously fiddling with the collar of his shirt. "High quantities of dark magic in the bloodstream of a light magic user can be fatal. As such, a fairy's body is designed to attack dark magic like a virus."

"…_And_?"

An icy feeling crept into my veins, tightening my chest. I had an eerie feeling that I knew where this was going.

"The magic gene is dominant in females. A female child born to a fairy will always be a fairy, and a female child born to a witch will always be a witch; they will get their power from their mother's side. If the father practices magic, only then might a male child get magic, and it will come from his father. But as both of you draw power from the Dragon Fire, any child born of your union would as well, regardless of its gender." He swallowed hard, beads of sweat starting to appear on his brow. "You must understand, this has never happened before. In the case of cross-alliance marriages, it has always been a witch and a hero, wizard, or paladin. The woman is always the one who practices dark magic. For a fairy to have a child by a dark wizard…"

"Her body reacted negatively to the part of the fetus's powers that are dark magic," Baltor cut in, in a serious voice I'd never heard before. "To the part that came from me."

Dr. Winters nodded, looking too scared to speak. "Of course, I might be wrong, but–"

"Thank you, Dr. Winters," I heard myself say, speaking as if from somewhere outside of my own body. Every single emotion was locked behind an impenetrable steel wall, until all I felt was cold and tired. "You've been a godsend. If you don't mind, I think I'd like to take a nap now."

Both men just stared as I mechanically lifted myself up and got to my feet, walking towards the door taking slow, plodding steps; but neither made a move to go after me.

* * *

><p>I was staring at myself in the mirror, hair wet from a long, cleansing bath dripping down the back of my fluffy white robe, when a small package materialized in my hands. The second I got a look at the rows of little white pills, marked off for days of the week, I dropped it like a red-hot iron.<p>

"You can't be serious," I said to Baltor's reflection in the mirror, refusing to turn around and stare him directly in the eyes.

"I am deadly serious." His voice was steady and even, a far cry from the barely contained fury of earlier. "I did some research; those ones are supposed to be the best. They've got special magic in them, so they're infallible as long as you–"

Something inside of me snapped, and the dam collapsed, emotion rushing like a waterfall. "How could you be so _heartless_? I just lost our child. Our _child_, and now you're practically shoving _birth control pills_ down my throat?"

"You heard what Dr. Winters said!" he roared. "The same thing would happen to any child we tried to have together. Forgive me if I think measures should be taken to keep this from happening again."

Even though I knew that his reasoning was perfectly sound and logical, born out of only good intentions, I had all this pent-up rage at something beyond my physical control, and no one to direct it at. So he became my unlucky target. "Don't you want children?" My voice cracked slightly, and unbidden, tears welled up in the corners of my eyes. I swallowed hard and tried to force them back.

Noticing my tears, his tone softened. "Of course I do. But more than anything, I want you to be safe and happy. I don't know if you know just how much you scared me, Bloom. You were screaming in pain, the bed full of blood; and then you just retreated into your own mind, like living with a ghost. And I just don't want to make you have to go through that again."

Hot tears stung my eyes, blurring my vision slightly. I squinted and stared down at the package of pills in my hand, trying to resign myself to this. "If I don't take them, then what? You just won't touch me?"

"If that's what I have to do." He closed his eyes, shaking his head slightly. "But I don't believe it will come to that. I truly believe that you will see sense and take them. I just don't understand why you're being so stubborn."

I inhaled deeply, chest shuddering slightly on the exhale. "What about the line of succession?" I tried, searching in vain to find more reasons to delay the inevitable.

"We have time to worry about that. You're still young; that won't be a problem for a long time now." His eyes seemed to bore into me even through their reflection in the mirror. "I'm going to bed. Don't take too long, my love." Leaning in close, he brushed a kiss to my cheek and then turned and left the bathroom.

The feeling of his lips on my skin lingered. My throat felt tight as I turned the package over in my hands.

_ Who does the bastard think he is, ordering me around like that?_

_ Do you _want_ another miscarriage?_

_ It should be _my_ choice to do this, not his._

_ He only has your well-being in mind._

_ But the way he presented it certainly left something to be desired!_

_You know he's right._

I sighed, the decision made. Carefully, I ripped the foil covering off one pill and stuck it on my tongue, swallowing it down with a gulp of water from the sink. The tiny capsule felt like a lead weight going down my throat, settling in my stomach like an anchor, something heavy and dead and unwanted.

* * *

><p>Baltor's eyes flickered briefly in surprise as I came out of my dressing room, but he wisely didn't comment on my current choice of attire – baggy plaid drawstring pants and an old faded gray T-shirt that I think once belonged to Mike. It was the kind of thing a fifteen-year-old girl might've worn to sleep in, not a married woman with a husband who couldn't keep his hands off her. Indeed, I'd amassed quite a collection of silky, lacy slips and lingerie over the years, but after the day's events, I no longer felt like wearing any of them. Sex was the last thing on my mind, especially after the confrontation in the bathroom, and right now I just wanted to be comfortable.<p>

"Did you take them?" he asked as I climbed into bed and buried myself under the covers. I just nodded, curling myself into a ball on what was technically 'my' side of the bed (the notion of calling sides was ridiculous, since normally we ended up sleeping in each other's arms, limbs entangled so it was impossible to tell where he ended and I began).

I felt his arms wrap around me from behind like always, and I fought against the urge to yank myself free. We had our arguments at times, but we always got over it; there was no reason to think that this wouldn't be the same way, given time. _A whole lot of time…_

"You'll thank me in the long run, I promise," he said against my neck, sweeping off the hair there to plant a tender kiss. I just bit my tongue and said nothing.

"I love you," he added, pulling me closer against him.

"I know."

(It would be the only time I never said it back.)

_I remember tears streaming down your face_

_When I said I'll never let you go_

_When all those shadows almost killed your light_

_Just close your eyes_

_You'll be alright_

_Come morning light_

_You and I'll be safe and sound_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: ...yeah.<strong>

**First of all, to give credit where credit is due, I borrowed yet another idea from waterbendergirl101 in this chapter: the thing about dark magic being fatal to a fairy in high enough concentrated doses. (I think the story that's from has since been taken down, but I'm not sure.) All that other stuff about magic and genetics was my own invention - how'd I do, by the way? Does it make sense?**

**So... yes. The miscarriage. Readers of my 2nd-gen trilogy, you might recall I made a very, _very_ tiny reference to this in chapter 3 of What's Left of Me. Yes, I have known this was coming for a long time - almost since I made up my mind to write this story. Since it's a prequel to my 2nd-gen trilogy, though, you know this isn't really permanent. They will have a baby (a girl named Alyssa, who IMHO is very awesome), the how of which we will find out in the next two chapters. ;-)**

**And before I get reviews flooded with hate mail, let me address something: Baltor's behavior in this chapter, particularly there at the end. Don't get me wrong - he is being kind of a jackass. And that's a little bit the point. His character is so amazingly complex, that I really do think this is how he would react to something like this. This is a really really awful situation that he can do very little about, and it's taking a huge emotional toll on him, even if he might not seem too affected. All he wants to do is protect her, but because of who and what he is, it doesn't exactly come across in the right way. He has only good intentions (which I think she acknowledges, even), but his actions leave a little something to be desired. Don't worry, though - he will come around.**

**Final point of the night: when I was rewriting What Comes Next, the first book in my trilogy, I realized that I never addressed how exactly Baltor got to be a free man. Thus, the idea about going to the Magix Council was born. And the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to _write_ it. So keep your eye out for a story about that, cowritten by the amazing emberfire411 (who actually has some experience with law) after we finish Leap of Faith. :-)**

**XOXO,**

**- Authoress**


	8. Coming Home

Puking your guts out is no fun. Doing it first thing in the morning is even less fun.

_Ugh_. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and laid down on the bathroom floor, the cool tile in sharp relief to my heated skin. My stomach felt settled now, though there was a gnawing empty ache radiating from it – probably because I'd just thrown up anything I might've possibly ingested in the last twenty-four hours. (Fleetingly, I was thankful that Baltor had been gone when I awoke; he sometimes did that, going out to wander around Sparx in disguise, as a respite from being cooped up in the palace all the time.)

It had come completely out of nowhere. I just woke up with my stomach rebelling, and barely made it to the bathroom in time. I'd had food poisoning before (a certain incident with Stella and a box of brownie mix sophomore year comes to mind…), but this felt… different.

_Wait a minute… when was my last period?_

My eyes widened. As if mocking me, I looked up and saw my pill package lying on the counter, two unopened pill slots where there should have been empty packaging.

My stomach dipped for an entirely different reason.

* * *

><p>"Congratulations, my Queen," Dr. Winters said. "You are indeed pregnant again."<p>

"How is this even possible?" I moaned, burying my face in my hands. "I thought… The pills I'm taking have magic, so they're supposed to be…"

"Magic can do many things, but there are limits on what it can do. In this case, although the pills themselves have special magic that eliminates the margin of error in regular birth control, they're only infallible if you always remember to take them. If you forget, then it's just like what would happen if you forgot to take non-magical birth control; there's a chance you could get pregnant." He hesitated. "I assume your husband has no idea?"

"Mmm-hmm," I nodded, still trying to process all of this.

"And am I right in thinking you would like it to stay that way for the time being?"

My head snapped to attention. "…Yes," I admitted finally.

Dr. Winters shook his head. "As much as I hate to even suggest this, because of the need for an heir… you do have a choice, my Queen… He would never even have to know if you'd like…"

"No!" I cried, feeling a sudden surge of maternal protectiveness. Dr. Winters looked startled. "No," I repeated, more calmly. "I mean, I'd like some time to think about this, if you don't mind."

"Of course." He looked thoroughly relieved. "You know, after what happened with your first child, I've been doing some research… I believe I may have found a way to sensitize you to dark magic, so the child could survive. If that is what you want," he was quick to add.

Despite everything, my heart momentarily leaped at the thought. _I could carry the love of my life's child after all?_

Then almost immediately, my thoughts turned to Baltor's fixed determination as he gave me those pills, his eyes hard and immovable, and a shiver raced down my spine unbidden. _But maybe he doesn't want a child?_

* * *

><p>The head chef briefly glanced my way as I entered the cavernous palace kitchen, but left me alone when he saw me heading for the two-ton fridge and freezer, shaking his head slightly as he returned to chopping herbs. Perhaps I did come here too often, seeking solace from whatever stupid court drama was plaguing me in one of our pastry chef's famous chocolate peanut-butter cupcakes, but sweets made me feel better, and with my metabolism, I could afford it.<p>

_And besides, _I thought, sliding a giant carton of butter pecan ice cream out of the freezer, pausing only to grab a spoon off a nearby drying rack (no need to bother with anything as mundane as a bowl), _I'm eating for two now_.

There was a twinge of something I couldn't quite define in my chest – joy? Anger? Hope? Fear? Longing? _All of that, and more._

It had taken so long to resign myself to the idea that I might never have a child… and now there was one growing inside of me. Out of force of habit, one hand reached down under the thin material of my T-shirt to cup my stomach, a small smile spreading across my face at the thought of the new life under my fingertips.

There was no denying that as clearly as I knew my own name, I knew I did not want to 'deal with' my child like it was something bad or unwanted. But that was almost certainly what Baltor would want to do, once I told him.

_What the hell am I supposed to do?_

Like a ghost, I heard a voice whispering in my ear; memories of a buried past, another life. _Now you just sit down on this bed and tell Mama Stella all your problems. I'm going to make you feel all better._

I frowned, staring dejectedly into the melting ice cream like it was a crystal ball. Stella did give amazing advice, but… I hadn't talked to her in almost three years.

I never set out to alienate the girls, but when Baltor and I had become involved, it was undeniably easier to stay wrapped in my little bubble on Sparx, waiting for people to feel the stirrings and return, than venture back out into the dimension. Then once they did, I was so busy trying to rule a planet that had been left for dead for years that I never found the time to go make amends; and for whatever reason, they never came to me, although I knew they had to know that I'd succeeded in restoring my planet. As much as I'd sometimes fiercely longed to talk to them again, some invisible force kept preventing me from taking that first step and reaching out.

_But that's ridiculous, isn't it? They're supposed to be my best friends. I should be able to tell them anything, no matter what it is. And I can't do this alone; there's just no way._

I took a deep breath, pushing away the ice cream. My mind was made up.

_It's far past about time anyways._

* * *

><p>That feeling of absolute conviction in what I was doing lasted me right up until I was standing before the doors of the Royal Palace of Solaria, giving my name to the guards. Then I started to have my doubts.<p>

_What in the realms was I thinking, showing up here unannounced like this? I should've at least written something, or called… but what if she'd turned me down? Well what if she does that now? It'll be ten times worse…_

My stomach churned with anxiety and, I suspected, a bit of morning sickness (a misnomer if I ever heard one). I was about to turn around and leave, propriety be damned, when I heard a rustle of skirts and saw a flash of blond hair and orange dress out of the corner of my eye.

The ornate gold crown on her head was new, as was the formal gown, but other than that, Stella had barely changed a bit from high school. Still blond, beautiful, and impossibly thin, although her stomach swelled noticeably – obviously, she was pregnant too.

I'll admit, my first thought was _so close in age… our children can be best friends, just like we were!_ Then I realized I'd used the word "were" instead of "are" to describe us, and I was nervous all over again.

The second her eyes landed on me, her jaw dropped, her face slowly draining of color like she'd seen a ghost. "…Bloom?"

I bit my tongue. _No backing out now, I guess_. "H-hey, Stel," I said, trying for casual. "Long time no see, eh?"

"I… you…" After recovering from the initial shock, her eyes took on a fiery defensive anger. "What in the realms are you doing here? And why haven't I heard a peep from you since freaking graduation?" Her gloved hands balled into fists as she started to gather steam. "We all thought you were _dead_ at first, when no one could get a hold of you. And then we heard about Sparx, but you never came to see us. Why? Why did you make us worry like that? Why did you leave us hanging? Why did you basically cut us out of her your life without explanation? And _why_ are you back here now?"

I winced, every word out of her mouth cutting like a knife, striking a harder blow for the fact that they were all true. For the first time, I started to realize how awfully I had treated these girls that were supposed to be some of the people I cared about more than anything in the dimension._ No wonder she looks like she's three seconds from throwing something at me…_

A wave of crushing guilt hit me in the stomach, followed by another bout of gut-wrenching nausea. I clutched my stomach, swallowing hard and tasting the bitter tang in the back of my throat that meant I was seconds from throwing up again.

Her face softened momentarily. "Are you alright?" she asked, in a gentler voice than before. It was gratifying to know that underneath the anger, she did still care about me.

"I'm more sorry than you can… possibly believe, for everything I put you through," I managed to get out, breathing heavily. "Believe me, I can explain, but for now–" another spasm of queasiness hit, and I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut– "can you just get me to a bathroom?"

"Of course." She put her hand on my back, guiding me towards a hallway, then froze, staring at me in horror. "Bloom, you aren't…?" The question was clearly visible in her eyes, even if she couldn't seem to bring herself to say the words.

I nodded, shuddering, as beads of sweat dotted my forehead. "Like I said, I can explain. But first… bathroom?"

* * *

><p>"More tea, Your Highness?"<p>

"Thank you, Lily." Stella sipped gracefully from her teacup, looking like a true queen even with her bloated stomach – in stark contrast to the bedraggled mess I knew myself to be. "You may take your leave. I would like some privacy now."

"As you wish, Your Highness." The pretty blond maid curtsied, then quickly turned around and walked towards the door, taking small, delicate steps. I watched her go, somewhat fascinated; I had my own servants, of course, but the ones here seemed like something out of a novel. It was interesting – I'd never thought of Solaria as being particularly formal, but then again, I suppose I hadn't spent much time here without being chased out by the guards. The thought made me laugh, and I reached for my teacup to cover it, even though the thought of food was truly repulsive right now, no matter how pretty the elaborate tea service looked.

Stella chose a sandwich – thin, cut into triangles with the crusts cut off – and a scone, setting them onto her plate. For a moment, there was nothing but the light clinking of china as she nibbled and sipped her tea. Then finally, she set them down, leaned back in her chair, and stared at me. "So."

"So," I echoed, picking up my teacup again, then setting it down when my stomach rebelled. "I am _so_ sorry for nearly puking in your royal reception hall," I started, feeling the pink creeping into my cheeks. "Believe me, that was probably one of the most mortifying moments of my life."

"Oh, I think we probably had some worse ones," she countered, and a spark of hope flared to life in my chest. Maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as I thought. "My princess ball, for example, when Chimera turned me into that hideous swamp monster and we got chased out of here by the palace guards." She laughed ruefully, taking a sip from her cup.

"I was just thinking about that!" I exclaimed. "We have some pretty amazing memories, don't we Stel?" She nodded. "I missed you so much," I ventured, forcing myself to hold her gaze, no matter how uncomfortable it was.

Her brown eyes were clear but guarded; I could see the doubts hovering at the edge of them, creeping like fog. "Then why in the realms haven't I seen you in so long?"

I sighed. "It's… a very, very long story." I picked up the teacup again, finding that my stomach had calmed enough to let me do that, and took a sip, letting the tea warm me from the inside out.

"How about we start with your explanation for that?" She motioned to my stomach, and my heart did a somersault. Leading with _that_ was undoubtedly not the best way to get into things.

A paralyzingly cold feeling spread through me as her eyes landed on my topaz ring, which I'd left on this morning, not thinking I was going anywhere. When she spoke again, it was in a slow, clear voice, dripping in accusation. "I didn't think there was a King of Sparx in the picture, and yet you're wearing a ring… that's not in any of the pictures floating around the realm-wide web."

"You've been searching me on the web?" Admittedly, that was probably not the smartest thing to address first, but what can I say? The sentimental part of me just wouldn't let it go.

"Of course I did." She looked shocked that I'd even asked the question. "At first it was to see if there was anything about an accident, or God forbid, an obituary–" I winced, remembering the words she'd attacked me with in the reception hall: _We all thought you were dead_– "and then… I don't know, a sort of morbid curiosity, I guess. I never stopped caring about you, Bloom, even though it seemed like you'd just cut us out of your life without a word."

"And I'm more sorry than you can possibly imagine for that." I took a deep breath, deciding to just go for it all at once, like ripping off a Band-Aid. "You want the truth? Okay then, here it is. I am married." I proudly brandished my ring, feeling an absurd sense of lightness at finally being allowed to say it like that. "To the most amazing man in the entire universe, and I'm having his child."

"Why in the realms keep it a secret, then?" Stella wondered, nibbling on a strawberry. "You're a queen, you have a–"

"A duty to my kingdom and my people to marry and produce an heir so that the line of succession will continue. You think I don't know that?" I rolled my eyes. "But our circumstances are… unique."

"How so?" I almost laughed as she scooted forward onto the edge of her seat, elbows resting on her knees, head propped up in her hands; like she used to do back at Alfea when she was desperate to hear (or impart) a particularly juicy piece of gossip. As a grown woman in a tiara and a queen's gown, it looked rather comical.

I bit my lip. This was harder to get out than I'd thought it would be. "You know how we all thought Baltor just died under the lakebed?" She nodded slowly, confusion gracing her classic features. I squeezed my eyes shut. _Like ripping off a Band-Aid_. "…He kind of didn't."

"What does that have to do with anyth–" She abruptly stopped mid-sentence and inhaled sharply, eyeing my stomach with a mixed look of disbelief and horror.

The silence that followed felt like someone was shoving glass shards down my throat. I almost would've preferred it if someone _was_ shoving glass shards down my throat, than have to sit here and watch the wheels in her mind turn and spin as she tried to understand this.

It felt like an eternity before she finally said something. "You… married…" She shuddered, not even able to bring herself to say his name. "…Why?"

"Because I love him," I answered immediately, in a tone that left no room for argument. "I don't expect you to understand it – honestly, sometimes I don't even understand it myself – but I _do_ expect you, as my friend, to accept it. I am in love with Baltor. And I'm having his child." My hand instinctively went to my stomach. "Well… I want to."

She looked at me like I'd suddenly grown two extra heads. "Excuse me? Did you or did you not just almost puke in the royal reception hall? You think I can't tell another pregnant woman? This is my _second_ child; I can see the signs."

"Not like that." Then the whole story, of the miscarriage and Dr. Winters's theory and the pills, came tumbling out of me like water from a broken dam.

When I was through, Stella pressed her lips together and exhaled, blowing air out of her mouth in a thin stream. "What do you want from me, then, Bloom?" she asked.

"I want you to tell me that everything's going to be alright if I try to have this baby." The second the words left my mouth, I realized how silly I was being, and hung my head, burying my face in my hands. "I don't know, alright? I'm just… I'm scared and I'm nervous and I'm sick and tired of not having anyone to talk to."

"There, there, sweetie." Somehow, she'd maneuvered herself onto the couch next to me, and pulled my head onto her shoulder. I inhaled the familiar scent of her perfume – still unchanged after all these years – and a wave of nostalgia washed over me that was almost painful in its intensity. _God, I missed her _so much_; more than I even realized…_ "You're not alone. You have me. You always had me, and you always will." I swallowed back what felt like the beginning of tears and looked up to meet her gaze. "I won't lie, this was quite a bigger shock than I was expecting from your story, but if you're truly happy with…" she stumbled briefly on his name, like her lips were having a hard time forming it– "Baltor, then I suppose we'll just have to get used to it."

"Y-you mean that?"

"Of course I do." She looked almost outraged that I'd even suggested otherwise. "Even if I don't completely understand it – yet – you're my best friend, Bloom. If you of all people can see another side in him, then it's my job to learn to see it too. And I'm sure that with enough time, I'll stop thinking of it as so weird." She paused, then made a little face. "Maybe a _lot_ of time."

I laughed. "And the others… Do you think they'll ever come around?"

"You give us far too little credit, Bloom," she said. "As strange as this is, if you're really happy, the other girls will be happy for you too. But you need to be completely honest with yourself here." She put her hand on my shoulder and looked me straght in the eye. "Have you told him that you're pregnant again?" I shook my head. "If you really want this baby, you need to stand up to him. Don't let him pressure you into anything you don't really want, or I promise I _will_ round up the girls and go kick his ass."

I swallowed hard. "…Alright."

"Mommy, Mommy!" An adorable little blond boy stumbled into the room from the open door, nearly tripping over his own two feet in the way that toddlers always do. He scrambled up onto the couch and made himself at home on Stella's lap, eyes going wide when they landed on me. "Mommy, who's this?"

In the doorway, Lily was apologizing profusely. "I'm so sorry, Your Highness… I couldn't stop him, he was so persistent in seeing his mother…"

"It's fine, Lily." Stella ruffled his hair affectionately. "Derek, this is one of Mommy's friends from school. Her name is Queen Bloom of Sparx."

"He's so cute, Stel," I said to her, aside.

She rolled her eyes. "He might be cute but is he ever a handful! Thank heavens I'm having a girl this time." She patted her enormous stomach. "Pray that's what you're having too. Trust me – boys are more work than they're worth."

Derek made the most adorable pouty face ever; I wasn't sure how much of the conversation he had understood, but apparently enough. "Oh, but your mommy didn't mean you, of course, little guy." I brushed some of his hair off his face, taking delight in his gleeful smile.

"Mommy, can she come back?" he asked, giving Stella the best puppy-dog face I had ever seen. Already, I could imagine what a heartbreaker this little guy was going to be when he grew up.

"Of course she's coming back, Der," she said, kissing him on the forehead. "Now go play with Lily, alright? Mommy has some grown-up business to finish with her friend."

"Okay." He ran out of the room and back into the waiting arms of Lily, who smiled apologetically before turning around and closing the doors.

"I should probably get going; I did kind of just rush off here without warning."

"Well I'm glad you did. God, I missed you." We both got to our feet, and she pulled me into a tight hug, made only slightly awkward by the rustling of our giant skirts pushing against each other. "Can I tell the others, or did you want to? Maybe we could all get together back here, in a few days or something?"

"Sounds perfect." I let her go, then impulsively pulled her in again. "You have no idea how much I missed you, Stel."

"And promise me you're going to be proactive, okay?" I pressed my lips together, then nodded.

"I will. At least, I'll try."

"That's all anyone can ask for." She hugged me for a third time. "Have a safe trip, okay? I'll call you later with the details, once I talk to the others."

As I headed for the closest portal station, I felt lighter, somehow, with the burden of my secret having been unloaded. Whoever said that all those years ago was right – the truth really does set you free. Something inside of me had changed for the better, like there was some vital piece of me that was missing and now had been returned to me. My friends were as much a part of me as I was myself, and I had spent too long trying to pretend I didn't need them.

_But not anymore,_ I thought, smiling to myself. _Not anymore_.

_I'm coming home, I'm coming home_

_Tell the world that I'm coming home_

_Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday_

_I know my kingdom awaits, and they've forgiven my mistakes_

_I'm coming home, I'm coming home_

_Tell the world that I'm coming_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: A word about the length of this story. While I was working on chapter 8, I realized that a certain scene that was originally part of <em>this<em> chapter really deserved its _own_ chapter, thus bringing the total chapter count up to nine instead of the eight I've been promising for a while now (that first little thing is really just a prologue). ****No complaints, I assume? ;-)**

**And now, to clear up a few things. First - yes, I do know that Bloom should've taken a pregnancy test instead of going straight to Dr. Winters, but I had to introduce the idea of her being sensitized somehow, and that seemed like the only way to get things done without adding unnecessary length to the chapter.**

**Also, I'm sure some of you were disappointed with the Stella conversation, but really, a lot of the heavy-weight thinking would've been going on in Stella's thoughts, which Bloom is not privy to. So I think I did the best that I could within the situation. Thoughts?**

**No Baltor in this one, yes, but the next one more than makes up for it...**

**That's all for now, folks. Please don't forget to hit the little green button on your way out and drop me a line or two. ;-)**

**Lator, gators!**

**- Authoress**


	9. I Won't

"I filed with the Magix Council today."

Just as I knew he would, Baltor looked up at me, startled. "You did what? Why?"

"Because I'm pregnant." I felt my chest relax, as if the lead glove that had had it in a death grip ever since I found out had finally lost its hold. It had only been two weeks, but I'd thought the guilt of keeping the secret might actually kill me.

If he had been shocked before, he was absolutely dumbstruck now. "But… how? It must be a mistake. Are you sure? That shouldn't be possible!" Chills raced down my spine as he stared at me suspiciously. "Did you 'forget' to take your pills?"

"No!" I exclaimed, horrified that he would accuse me of trying to trick him like that. I wanted a child, yes, but not enough to go behind his back like that. "I mean, yes, but I really did just forget. I promise; I was as surprised as you are."

He seemed only mildly pacified, but dropped the subject. "How long have you known?"

I lowered my eyes. "A couple weeks."

"And you're sure it's not a false positive?"

I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. This was not sounding promising. "Yes, I'm sure."

He sighed resignedly, looking away from me. "Well, we'll have to see Dr. Winters again, I suppose…"

Any hopes I'd had that this would be easy withered and died. "No," I said, in a strong, clear voice. "I'm keeping it."

The words hung in the air like dead weight, the silence that followed heavy and awkward. I had to force myself to count in my head, to remember to breathe.

Finally, he turned around to face me, and my stomach turned. I'd always marveled at those unusual eyes of his, how they were somehow able to reflect so many different emotions at once. But not like this. Anger, pain, and betrayal swirled together to resemble something like a hurricane – and I could only imagine what was going on in his mind.

_What have I done? Did I go too far? No – I absolutely did the right thing. He doesn't get to control me._

And still… My heart felt like it was being ripped out of my chest, seeing him this hurt. I closed my eyes.

"But darling," he said finally, in his warm velvet tones that usually never failed to make me melt. I knew all his tricks, and right now he was pulling out all the stops to try and persuade me. "You remember what happened last time, what Dr. Winters said. Do you really want to go through that again?"

My hands trembled slightly as I spoke, although I tried to keep the nervousness out of my voice. "I spoke with Dr. Winters. He thinks he's found a way to sensitize me, so the baby will survive."

"And you trust him?"

"With my life," I replied, in a tone that left no room for discussion. "And with the life of our unborn child."

He sighed, shaking his head. "If it's a child you want so badly, there are other ways. We could find a donor, someone whose magic genes aren't incompatible with you–"

"You're kidding, right?" I gaped at him, horrified at the mere idea. "Carry some stranger's baby? Why in the realms would I want to do _that_?" He opened his mouth, but I cut him off before he could get a word in edgewise, hands balled into fists at my side. "You just don't get it, do you? It's not just any child that I want; I want _your_ child. You're _my husband_. Doesn't that mean anything to you?" A sharp pain emanated from my palms, and I looked down to see ugly red half-moon-shaped grooves where my fingernails had been. "Or is it that you don't want children? Because if that's the case, you can just tell me." Even as I said it, I felt something like a knife stab in my chest at the thought.

Baltor shook his head vehemently. "By the Great Dragon…" He sighed, rubbing his temples like he had a headache. "What part of you thinks you can do this? It's nothing against you – you're one of the strongest people I've ever known – but this is genetically impossible, and _you know that_." His tone softened slightly. "You remember what happened last time, how awful that was. And even if some miracle occurred and you didn't miscarry, so many things could go wrong. What's worth that kind of risk?"

The raw emotion in his voice stopped me in my tracks. I looked at him, really seeing for the first time how absolutely agonized he was over this. Slowly, I reached a hand out towards his shoulder.

"I've taken so much from you already… But I am not going to be the thing that kills you. Not if I can help it."

My hand stilled in midair. An eerie cold seeped into my skin, cutting off my ability to breathe. "_What did you just say_?"

When he turned to me again, his eyes were like a man burning at the stake. "It's true; don't try to deny it. If I was anyone else, we wouldn't be going through this right now. You wouldn't have to live your life in this enormous lie, alienated from all your friends. And you'd be able to have a child that could survive to term without possibly killing you!"

At that, something inside of me snapped, and I found my voice again. "Don't you _dare_ blame yourself for this. You never tricked me into loving you; I did that all on my own. So this is as much my fault as it is yours." He tried to speak, but I cut him off. "No. You don't get to do this. You don't get to make my choices for me, any more than you get to make yourself out as the bad guy to guilt me. I didn't fight you when I miscarried, because I was hurt and numb and maybe even a part of me thought you were right. But the universe has given me – given _us_ – a miracle of a second chance. And I refuse to let it slip through my fingers."

"Goddamn it, Bloom, I don't want to lose you!"

I recoiled like he'd slapped me. In all the time I'd known him, he'd never yelled at me like that. He stared back at me with eyes wide, almost like he couldn't believe he'd done it either; but he didn't look sorry.

"But you're not going to." My throat felt tight, but I refused to start crying. "It's _my_ body. _My_ choice. And I want this baby so much. Why are you so unwilling to let me try?"

"If anything happened to you, I would never be able to forgive myself." I swallowed hard. _He's trying to manipulate you_, I told myself, but it was easier said than believed. It was so against every fiber of my being not to console him when he sounded this hurt and miserable, to just give in so that he'd stop acting like this.

"There are two of us in this relationship. _Two_. And that means you have to listen to me as much as I have to listen to you. I know you were absolutely adamant when it was only theoretical, but now there's no what-if; this is actually happening. And I had no idea that I would want this as much as I do, but what's done is done and I don't want to go backwards. I _can't_ spend the rest of my life pretending I don't want children because you think something awful is going to happen again."

My heart beat a staccato rhythm in my chest. I dared to look him in the eyes, petrified at the thought of seeing that storm again. But instead, his face was a steely silent mask, completely unreadable.

It was undeniably worse.

I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood. "I don't want to fight with you," I pleaded. "Please?" Still no response.

A part of me wanted to go to him and fold myself into his arms, but the stronger part, that had pushed me to stand up for myself, kept me rooted in place. "I told Stella a week ago, and the other girls know too," I felt the need to add. "They're all more or less okay with it.

"You didn't take anything from me that I wasn't willing to give."

There was no reply, or sign that he'd heard me.

_Because when you took my heart_

_You took it all_

_And when you gave it back_

_It fell apart, so_

_I won't do what you told me_

_I won't do what you said_

_No, I'm not gonna stop feeling_

_I'm not gonna forget_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: ...yeah. Don't kill me, please.<strong>

**In my original outline, this bit was part of the _last_ chapter. Then I changed it so this chapter and the next one were all one chapter, but finally a friend of mine convinced me that this argument needed its own chapter. What did you guys think? Do you agree, or are you ready to lynch me for making you wait for the good stuff?**

**Only one more chapter left... :-)**

**Kisses!**

**- Authoress**


	10. A Moment Like This

"It can't still be that bad, can it?"

"Oh yes it can." I leaned back in the plush, high-backed chair I had in my 'office' (a somewhat superfluous room that had never gotten much use until recently) and cradled the phone against my cheek with my shoulder, reaching across the desk for a piece of paper. "You should have been there. He just… shut down, completely unresponsive. It was at least a day before he even started talking to me, and now he just acts like nothing's happened. Except not even, because if that were really the case he wouldn't flinch every time he looked at my stomach. It's become this giant elephant in the room, and I don't even know how to _begin_ to fix it. Especially because the only way he's ever going to be truly happy is if I completely compromise myself and what I really want, and I'm sorry, but there is just some point where I have to draw a line."

"Calm down, sweetie." Flora's kind voice washed over me like a soothing wave, and I took a few deep breaths. Oh, how I'd missed having her to talk me down whenever I got worked up. While the others went through varying stages of acceptance, Flora had been the first to fully give me her approval; she was always the most tolerant one, the one who tried to see the good in everything. Without her to rant to, I might very well have gone insane these last few months. "I know this is something you feel very strongly about, but try to look at it from his point of view. Obviously, he feels as strongly about his position as you do on yours."

I sighed. "I get where he's coming from, yeah, and I know he just wants to protect me, but seriously, when does that stop being the default excuse for him to get to control me? And the way he's acting because I'm not going to do what he wants is just ridiculous."

"He's always gotten his way, no matter what he had to do, because he never used to care about what he had to do to get it. You're the first person he's ever let his guard down around, who he's ever let in. And then this comes along, and you're not doing what he wants – which he's not used to – and my best guess is that he had no idea what to do. This reaction is probably just something like a default response."

I plucked the phone from its perch on my shoulder, switching it to the other ear. "_Why_ are you defending him so strongly?"

"Because I hate hearing you this depressed," she countered. "Look, you obviously love him, and I refuse to believe that he doesn't feel the same way, so you two need to just work this out already." I sighed. Flora was also the best at playing amateur psychologist, something I was kind of starting to regret calling her for. "All this stress is not good for the baby," she added.

"You would know, Flo," I teased, trying to lighten the mood. "When's your little one due? Any day now, right?"

"Mmm-hmm." I could practically hear her smiling through the phone. "It's sort of crazy that we're all pregnant around the same time."

"The universe decided that there has to be a second generation of the Winx Club." I laughed, and after a beat she joined in. "Thank you, for listening to all my crap."

"Any time," she insisted. "I miss you like crazy! You need to pop over for a visit sometime soon."

"Kind of busy ruling a planet here, remember?" I shifted the phone to my shoulder again and pulled out a pen, my eyes scanning across the page in front of me. "And there's that thing with the Magix Council… My schedule's pretty full these days. But I'll see what I can do Oh, say hi to Helia for me."

"Can do. Hey, do you know yet if it's a boy or a girl?"

"Dr. Winters asked me if I wanted to know the last time I went in, but I said I wanted to wait." Knowing but not telling him would feel like a betrayal of the highest order, but trying to tell him anything about my pregnancy just caused a complete shut-down.

Flora clucked her tongue. "He will get over this," she repeated, like she had somehow read my mind. "Okay, I gotta run, love. Talk to you later."

"Later."

I nibbled on the edge of my pen and stared daggers at the papers on the desk in front of me, as if somehow that would make them disappear into thin air. The Magix Council had agreed to hear us out, but they were fighting tooth and nail to not have to acquit him, which was just making my life all the more complicated. Add that to ruling Sparx, making up for lost time with my friends, and dealing with pregnancy hormones, and you had a recipe for a very stressed-out Bloom.

"Is it a sign of insanity to be getting mad at a piece of paper?" I wondered out loud, pulling the pen out of my mouth and examining the chewed up end. This was a really gross habit, to think about it. I should really stop.

"What've you got there?" Baltor asked, leaning over from behind to take a peek. I hadn't heard him come in, but now he was just there, hovering over me. I couldn't help but notice that he didn't kiss my forehead, or give my shoulders a squeeze, or anything like what he would've done if he found me growling at paperwork several months ago.

"More crap from the Magix Council," I sighed, letting my arm fall back onto the desk, the pen rolling towards the edge and then onto the floor. Damn. Now I'd have to go pick that up. "It is truly amazing, the ends they will go to just so they don't have to admit that they're not infallible."

"Mmm-hmm…" The skin on the back of my neck started to prickle with the distinct sense that he was staring at something. Stealing a glance upwards, I watched his eyes trace over the tiny, near-invisible pinprick scars at the base of my wrist, where Dr. Winters had been giving me the injections to sensitize me.

I sucked in a breath reflexively. _Everything seems to come back to this these days…_

"When this is all over, we should take a vacation," I started, subtly twisting my wrist away from his prying gaze. "Somewhere quiet, warm and sunny, where we can just lie on the beach and sip fruity drinks all day." I paused for a second, allowing him to visualize that, and the inevitable picturing of me in a skimpy bikini. (Even if he was one of the formerly most-feared dark wizards in the magical dimension, he was still a guy, after all.)

I could sense it as he processed what I was saying, feel the change in the atmosphere of the room. At first, I'd just wanted to distract him from thinking about the baby, but now I was starting to realize how much I really did need a vacation. "I know I feel like my head's about to explode, and I'm not even the one getting the third degree from every uppity official who feels the need to make sure this case is airtight." I stood up and turned around to face him, pressing my upper body against his and sliding my arms around his neck. Deliberately, I let my voice drop a few registers, to the low, sultry croon I knew he couldn't resist; calculated, yes, but with only good intentions. "I just want to be alone with you…"

For a moment, I saw his eyes dance with that familiar light, and an electrifying surge of hope shot through me. But at the last second, he abruptly pulled away from me, and it died in my veins, leaving me with an almost painful sense of loss.

"We can't," he said definitively, that eerie coldness creeping into his voice. "What about…" he faltered "–Sparx? Surely you can't just take a vacation like that without warning, not as queen."

That was nothing but a cheap excuse, and we both knew it. His real reason for pulling back from me was all too clear, even if he refused to ever give voice to it.

I met his gaze, silently pleading with him: _When are you going to stop blaming me for this?_ The months of distance both physical and emotional were starting to take their toll on me, and I wasn't sure how much more of this I could take before I ended up doing something drastic.

"I should let you go back to your work," he said tersely. Then, after hesitating for a moment, he took a step towards me and placed a brief kiss on my lips.

He might as well have given me a business-like handshake, for all the emotion it contained.

* * *

><p>"I just can't do this, Stel," I whined. "You'd think he would have come around by now, but no – he's still acting like I've just gained weight or something." I rested my hand on my enormously pregnant stomach. "I don't know what he thinks pretending that it doesn't exist is going to do, but there he is, stubbornly clinging to this fantasy of his. Honestly, sometimes I wonder why he's still here, if he's going to act like this."<p>

"That's a two-way street, sweetie," she pointed out, reaching out to take my hand. "I don't pretend to understand what's going on between the two of you right now, but obviously you both still love each other, or one of you would have left by now. Whatever's going on in his head, he'll get over it eventually."

"Yeah, but when?" I took a sip of my iced tea, sighing. "Everyone keeps telling me that he'll come around, but it's been almost seven months, and nada. And I am _so _sick of waiting."

"I know you hate thinking about it this way, but you're not exactly blameless here." I made a face, because of course, she was right – on both counts. "You know we all support you for wanting to have a child, but you didn't exactly talk to him about it very much. Have you tried apologizing?"

"Why should I apologize?" I stared at her incredulously. Flora had been playing devil's advocate for months now, but I'd never expected this out of Stella. "What do I even have to apologize _for_? For wanting to have a child? For not wanting to _abort_ my child? It's my body."

"And he's the father. Which means he should have some say too." I huffed, leveling her with my stare. "Don't get me wrong, I think you're totally in the right, but if you want him to warm up, then maybe you have to swallow your pride and be the bigger person." I snorted a laugh, and she gave me a pointed look. "You know what I mean! Men like to hear apologies, as much as they don't like giving them. Something about the way the male ego works."

I rolled my eyes. "The world would be a much better place if not for men and their stupid egos."

"Amen to that." She picked up her cup and swallowed the last of her iced tea. "Okay, I need a refill. You want? I'll get them, so you don't have to get up."

"Sure." I grabbed my glass and brought it to my lips, intending to drink the last of mine, when it suddenly slipped from between my fingers, splashing the contents all over my skirt. "Oh, wonderful," I sighed, getting to my feet and trying to dab at the worst of it with a napkin.

There was an odd sort of sensation in my stomach and… lower regions. _What is this?_ I wondered, still trying to clean off my skirt. Then I felt something wet drip down the side of my leg, and froze.

The obvious culprit would be the iced tea, but looking at the placements of the stains on my skirt, I knew that couldn't have been it. My stomach dipped.

"Bloom? Are you alright?"

I had to force myself to breathe, taking several deep breaths before I could look back up at Stella. "I… I think my water just broke."

* * *

><p>"Where is Dr. Winters? Will someone please find Dr. Winters! The Queen of Sparx is having a baby!"<p>

"Stel, calm down," I admonished her, leaning against a wall. A spasm of pain hit suddenly, and I winced, my body curling in on itself. "Oh. Oh God, this hurts…"

"Dr. Winters! Where is Dr. Winters!" she continued to screech. From the way she was carrying on, you'd never know that she'd had two children already.

A very flustered-looking Dr. Winters appeared from around the corner, and gasped when he saw me. "My Queen! We need to get you to a sterile environment right away."

I gulped in a few shallow breaths, as beads of sweat appeared on my forehead. "Yes, I think that would be good," I managed to get out.

"Come with me," he said, placing a hand on my back to guide me. Stella trailed after us, looking like she was about to pee her pants.

"Baltor!" she yelped suddenly, startling me. "Where is he? He needs to be here!"

I squeezed my eyes shut. "I don't know. He's been traveling a lot since the Magix Council cleared him…"

"Then call him or something!" she snapped. A second later, her cheeks reddened. "Well, not _you_, obviously, because you're, you know, about to give birth. Where's your cell phone? Does he even have a cell phone? Would he pick up if I–"

"Stella!" I snapped. "I can't think about this right now." There was a twinge of regret in my chest that blossomed to a full-blown ache. Certainly, this was not how things _should_ have been when my first child was born. But life, as I was slowly starting to come to terms with, was not a fairytale, even if you happened to be a princess.

Ever the idealist, though, I reached into the hidden pocket of my skirt and handed Stella my cell phone. Wordlessly, she took it and started jabbing buttons at lightning speed.

Dr. Winters's voice, bumped up an octave in his nervousness, brought me back to the enormity of the situation at hand. "With your circumstances, I believe we would have better luck with a Caesarean section–"

"No!" I yelped, the sound echoing in the tall-ceilinged palace hall. He looked at me aghast.

"It won't leave a big scar, if that's your worry. And it's much less of a risk, in your unusual position–"

"I said no," I repeated, my chest heaving with exertion. "If something happens and you have no other choice, then by all means, do a C-section, but only if it's the only way we'll both survive. Until then, I want to give birth like any other woman."

Dr. Winters hesitated, then dipped his head slightly and uttered what seemed to be his favorite phrase: "As you wish, my Queen."

"Please, just call me Bloom," I insisted. "We should be past the formalities by now."

His face would have been amusing under any other circumstances – an odd mixture of hesitation, displeasure, and propriety. But right now, all I could focus on was the agonizing pain rippling through my body. The gripping sensation in my stomach and back would start mild but quickly grew stronger until it reached its painful peak, then start to fade, only to return again in what seemed like seconds later, stronger than before. _Why didn't any of the girls tell me it's like this?_

It could have been minutes, seconds, hours, days; time seemed to lose all meaning but for the regularly spaced pattern of the contractions. I remembered being shepherded through the suddenly-way-too-big-for-its-own-good palace, Stella trailing behind and shrieking into the phone at different people. I remembered gentle female hands helping me out of my tea-stained dress and into one of those paper hospital gowns, laying me down on a hospital-type bed, and the sting of a needle as something was injected in my arm, something cold that took the edge off the pain but made the world start to swim in bright colors before my eyes. I remembered Dr. Winters positioning himself below me, muttering doctor-like things and calling for more nurses. Stella's voice wove in and out of my consciousness, her hand squeezing mine or gently brushing hair off my face, occasionally giving me sips of water. "It's going to be okay, Bloom," she said over and over again, and sometimes I was actually able to believe her. "Everything is going to be okay."

"Okay, Bloom, I'm going to need you to push now," Dr. Winters called out, after an indeterminate amount of time.

"You can do this, sweetie," came Stella's voice in my ear, as the pain sharpened through my fog of medication.

I grit my teeth, as what had been merely painful before became _excrutiating_. "Baltor!" I cried, half delirious from the pain and the drugs. "I need my husband!"

"He's on his way, sweetie," Stella said, rubbing tiny circles on my hand. If I had been more alert, I would have slapped her for giving me false hope, but in my current state, I clung to her statement like it was my lifeboat in shark-infested waters. _He's on his way… he's going to get here and everything's going to be okay…_

_ My God, I'm having a baby._

Somehow, it hadn't _really_ hit me until just now.

The edges of the world started to blur slightly, until everything seemed just a bit out of focus. If even possible at this point, the pain intensified further, and I shut my eyes tightly, as if I could block it out. The medication combined with the pain was making me feel strange: loose, untethered, like at any moment I could slip out of my own body.

"Bloom? Are you alright? Talk to me." That voice… It tugged at the edge of my unfocused mind, nagging at me with its familiarity. _I know that voice. I care about that voice. That voice means a lot to me_.

"Bloom?" It was louder now, closer. I opened my eyes, but the blurriness had gotten worse. All I could make out clearly was spots of gold, breaking up the monotony of the white and gray medical wing.

_Gold eyes_.

Even in my current adled state, something deep in my blood recognized the absolute _rightness_ of those gold eyes being here, and soothing calm raced through me. Another hand slipped into my own, and the touch sent a jolt of magic through my veins. "I'm here, love. I'm here."

It seemed like a Herculean task, but I managed to open my mouth, wanting to reply… and instead let out a high-pitched, keening wail like the shriek of metal being torn apart. The sound went on, and on, and on, until it had sapped all the strength in my body… and I collapsed, spent, against the bed.

Except the sound continued; a thin, squealing cry, but not coming from my chest. "Congratulations," Dr. Winters said, sounding to my ears like he was speaking through a wad of cotton. "You have a beautiful baby girl."

Pure joy spread throughout my entire body. "A… girl…" I heard myself say weakly. Slowly, my arms reached out, as if to hold her.

But the small movement sent my already overworked body plummeting over the edge, and with a soft sigh, I felt myself slip into the darkness that threatened to claim me.

* * *

><p>"Oh thank heavens you're awake." Groaning as my eyelids fluttered open, I turned my head to the left and saw Baltor sitting on an uncomfortable-looking plastic chair, my limp left hand clutched in his. "You gave me a hell of a scare back there, love."<p>

I managed to smile weakly, even though my entire body ached like I'd just run a marathon (not that I ever had, but a girl could imagine). "You're here," I said, stating the obvious.

"Of course I'm here. You think I would miss the birth of our child?" The casual way the words slipped off his tongue both elated and confused me.

"You… you're not still mad?"

He sighed, casting his gaze downward. "I'm sorry for the way I behaved. I acted more like a little child than a man about to be a father, and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

"Of course I forgive you," I said automatically. In the back of my mind, I knew it shouldn't have been this easy; after the way he'd treated me, he should have to grovel at my feet before I'd even dare consider forgiving him. But staying angry was exhausting, and I was just so tired. He seemed genuinely repentant for his behavior, and besides – as everyone kept feeling the need to remind me, I wasn't exactly guilt-free either.

Both of us had made mistakes in this tense, unfamiliar situation, but now it was behind us, and the dice of Fate had fallen in our favor. What good was there in continuing to harbor old grudges?

The relieved look on his face alone was enough to convince me that I'd done the right thing, letting go of my anger. "I love you," he said, getting to his feet and leaning over to kiss me. It was soft and gentle, a mere brush of lips – I was too drained for anything more – but it still sent electricity through my veins.

"Where is she?" I demanded, my focus zeroing in with one-track intensity. "I want to see her."

"Stella has her."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Stella breezed into the room, a little cloth bundle enveloped in her arms. "Bloom, darling, you're awake! Your daughter is just the most precious thing in the universe. And she's so good! Nothing at all like either of mine. She cried a bit at first, because she was hungry, but you were unconscious so we gave her some formula, and then she just nodded off. And look at her; isn't she just so peaceful? I've been taking about a thousand pictures, you know, to fulfill my godmotherly duties. Wait, I am the godmother, right?"

I chuckled softly, the movement straining my body to its limits but thankfully not pushing it over. "Yes, you're the godmother, Stel. Who else would it be?" She preened a little bit, and I heard Baltor's unmistakable laughter. "Can I hold her?"

Carefully, Stella placed her in my outstretched arms. It amazed me at first, how tiny she was. The downy wisps of hair on her little head were an undeniable red shade, meaning she was going to take after me in that regard. I couldn't get enough of her tiny little fingers, watching as they curled around mine in her sleep. My breath caught in my throat as she yawned and blinked open her eyes, giving me a sleepy smile.

Her eyes were a brilliant bright gold, just like Baltor's.

"She has your eyes." I beamed. As cute as the idea of having a mini-me was, I'd secretly hoped our child would have his eyes.

"But your everything else." I felt his arm wrap around my shoulders from behind. "What are we going to name her?"

"I'll let you two have a moment to yourselves," Stella said, already halfway out the door. She dropped one eye in a wink before disappearing completely.

I hadn't spent much time thinking about names, but somehow whenever I did, I always kept coming back to one. "What about… Allison?"

I heard him inhale sharply. When I looked up, I was surprised by the look on his face. "That would be a wonderful gesture, my love. But… I think I'd rather keep my past where it belongs. You, and our daughter, are my future."

I tried not to look too disappointed; that was my only idea. At the same time, though, I could understand. I wouldn't want to name her Miriam – that would just be too much like opening old wounds, despite the sweetness of the idea in theory. "What do you think, then?"

"How about… Alyssa." A small smile spread across his face. "Alyssa. Yes. I like it more the more I think about it."

I tried it out hesitantly, almost tasting the way the name rolled off my tongue. "Alyssa…"

As if she knew we were talking about her, the little girl in my arms let out a soft coo that just about melted my heart. "Someone knows her name," Baltor teased, dangling a finger in front of her and watching as she latched onto it in delight.

"Yes she does." I cradled her more firmly in my arms. "Welcome to the world, Alyssa."

"You're in amazing hands, little girl," he added. "In the mother department, you really lucked out."

"She didn't do so shabby in the father department either," I teased back, tilting my head up to meet his lips in a soft kiss again.

I closed my eyes, feeling a sudden sense of complete and utter contentment. Somehow, I had ended up with everything I could have ever wanted – and some things I hadn't even known I wanted.

_How did I get so incredibly lucky?_

But as Alyssa let out another happy little baby sound in my arms, and Baltor kissed my forehead, I decided to stop questioning it and just start enjoying it.

_Could this be the greatest love of all?_

_I know that you will catch me when I fall_

_So let me tell you this_

_Some people wait a lifetime_

_For a moment like this_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: This is going to be a long AN, so be warned.<strong>

**I continue to be surprised at how much positive response this story has gotten. ****When I first set out to write it, I had no idea so many of you would fall in love with it the way I did. It was originally just my way of patching up plot holes that I'd noticed in my 2nd-gen trilogy, and at first I even hesitated to write it because I had already written so much in the 'universe' of my trilogy. ****But it's become so much more than that now, because of all of you. So t****hank you to each and every person who's been reading this - even the lurkers who don't review or favorite - for sticking with me through these last few months. This story was finished in a record amount of time for me, and I attribute part of that to how much all of you made me feel inspired to keep writing.**

**A few sticky little points of business to address: this chapter covers a great deal of time - which I did try to reference with the pregnancy stuff - in case you were going "WTF?" at Flora and Stella's actions. So yes, I sort of cheated you out of the business with the other girls accepting them, but this story was never supposed to be about that. I am sorry, though.**

**Another thing that kind of got glossed over was Baltor being cleared by the Magix Council; yes, Lucyole, he did get to go free, although even though they're married, he's not allowed to be King of Sparx (they don't like the idea of him in a power position; this was addressed in the rewrite of What Comes Next). A story loosely about that is in the works, another collab between myself and the ever-wonderful emberfire411 - based off the idea of him having a trial with the Magix Council, but not strictly set in the same 'universe' as this and my 2nd-gen trilogy (I think I've done quite enough in this world now, and I'm not even completely done yet).**

****As for that birth scene... I don't exactly have experience in that department, so especially because I was writing from Bloom's POV, I tried to make it be more about the emotions than cold hard medical facts. That being said, I am somewhat proud of the way it turned out, and I hope you all think the same.****

**So... yes. I do believe that is all. Again, I can't say thank you enough times for how much love and support I've gotten, especially from non-trilogy readers. Please, if you've liked this, do go check out my other works; and if you're not a 2nd-gen fan, I do have a new purely Sparxshipping project in the works, coming soon...**

**All my love,**

**- Authoress**

* * *

><p>Playlist –<p>

Prologue: "Goodbye" by Avril Lavigne

Ch. 1: "One Girl Revolution" by Superchick

Ch. 2: "Two Rebels" by Honor Society

Ch. 3: "Just a Kiss" by Lady Antebellum

Ch. 4: "Arms" by Christina Perri

Ch. 5: "Fix You" by Coldplay (I prefer the Glee cover, but either way it's the same song)

Ch. 6: "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift

Ch. 7: "Coming Home" by Diddy-Dirty Money ft. Skylar Grey

Ch. 8: "I Won't" by Colbie Caillat

Ch. 9: "A Moment Like This" by Kelly Clarkson


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